After failing to provide affordable, decent housing for the people of this country in many years, State Housing Company Limited (SHCL), the nation's supposed premier housing builder, has been hit with myriads scandals under the Mr Sarpong Mensah-led administration.
This paper's thorough investigations has revealed that the office of the Managing Director, has for instance, succeeded in encircling himself with his cronies thereby denying other management members their rights in the company.
Again, Mr. Sarpong Mensah is said to have single-handedly planned his retirement package and schemed to have the approval of the old board of the company.
His supposed retirement package is alleged to include over ¢1 billion cash, a couple of company vehicles together with his official residence, among others.
In one of his latest manoeuvres, Mr Sarpong has asked two workers of the company to proceed on an indefinite leave prior to their retirements even though their retirements are due next year.
The two, Land Surveyor-OPS, Nana Addae and Director of Planning and Development, Mr. Ofosu Appiah, are currently on leave pending retirement without any tangible reasons.
According to some of the workers this paper spoke to at the company's head office on condition of anonymity; the two are victims of Mr. Mensah's divide and rule tactics.
According to our sources, Nana Addae petitioned the new board under the chairmanship of Mr. Yaw Nyame, but was asked to seek redress through the Senior Staff Workers Association
This reporter's efforts to seek the Managing Director's side of the story proved futile as he was not available in his office when his outfit was contacted.
However, in an interview with the Director of Administration, Mr. Henry Yaw Aidoo, he denied any knowledge of the said retirement package for the Managing Director and noted that the MD acquired his official residence long before his present position.
According to Mr. Aidoo, the Managing Director is not involved in any kind of divide and rule tactics, adding that the present management is transparent and fair to all employees of the company.
Mr. Aidoo explained that Nana Addae and Mr Ofosu Appiah were asked to proceed on leave in order to save the company from losing money.
He said the two have accumulated working leave which if they are not asked to spend before their retirements would compel the company to convert those days into hard cash to be given to them. The Managing Director recently appointed two of his alleged cronies, including the Director of Administration, Mr. Henry Aidoo, to represent the company at a 2-day housing exhibition in the UK.
Reliable but unconfirmed reports suggest that this was a "thank you" gesture that Mr. Sarpong Mensah extended to his 'boys' for always dancing to the tune of his music.
But Mr Aidoo believes that that was not the case because, as he puts it, many management members have had their turns to attend various programmes outside the country on the ticket of the company.
He therefore wondered why his participation in the UK housing exhibition should be questioned by anyone.
The question that discerning minds are asking is how come the NPP Government's plan to construct about 15,000 "affordable houses" for the ordinary people of this country will be entrusted to another company whereas State Housing is alive.
Some newspapers have described the US based Global Interest LLC, financier of the proposed 15,000 houses, as "another IFC/CNTCI-like 419 scam", but it seems the government is unperturbed.
The houses will be for onward sale or rental through the Government of Ghana and surprisingly, State Housing is completely missing in the execution of the deal.
More anon.
