Former Minister for Works and Housing, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, says the progress being made at the Saglemi Affordable Housing Project vindicates the private-sector participation model adopted by the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration to revive and complete the long-delayed project.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah, who served in the Akufo-Addo administration when efforts to revive the project were undertaken, said he was encouraged that the current National Democratic Congress (NDC) government had maintained the private-sector arrangement rather than abandoning it and returning the entire financial burden to the state.
The Member of Parliament for Ofoase-Ayirebi made the remarks while speaking to journalists, following President John Dramani Mahama’s visit to the Saglemi project site on Thursday, August 20, 2026.
The Saglemi Affordable Housing Project has remained at the centre of Ghana’s housing debate for more than a decade.
Originally conceived as a major affordable housing development, the project was expected to provide thousands of housing units but was stalled for years, amid financing difficulties, construction challenges and political disagreements over how it should be completed.
During the Akufo-Addo administration, Mr Oppong Nkrumah advocated the involvement of private capital and expertise as an alternative to placing the full cost of completing the project on government.
The private-sector participation (PSP) model subsequently attracted criticism from sections of the then opposition, who questioned aspects of the arrangement and raised concerns about the government’s approach to the project.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah, however, maintained that the arrangement was designed to protect the state’s interest, while mobilising private financing and expertise to complete the abandoned development.
Reflecting on the latest developments, he said the decision by the current administration to continue with the arrangement demonstrated that the model had merit.
“I was pleased to note that, first of all, the process that we went through to use private-sector participation to complete the Saglemi project, that process has been upheld by this administration,” he said.
According to him, the private developer selected under the arrangement has continued working on the project, while the agreed framework for financing and completing the development remains in place.
He recalled that the arrangement faced further controversy after a fire incident occurred at the project site while the private developer had commenced work.
At the time, he said, allegations were made suggesting that the incident was intended to conceal information about the project.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah said subsequent developments had demonstrated that the private developer was genuinely committed to completing the project and that the framework could deliver the intended housing units.
He also pointed to the phased approach to the development as evidence that key elements of the framework established under the previous administration had been maintained.
“I was happy to hear that the benchmarks, the first 700 and then the subsequent, about thousand and two thousand, and then the continuous development of Saglemi, the President has upheld all of those,” he said.
President Mahama’s visit to the site has renewed attention on the long-delayed project, with the government outlining plans for the completion of the first batch of housing units and subsequent expansion of development across the site.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the progress was encouraging because the ultimate beneficiary would be the Ghanaian public.
He expressed appreciation to the technical team, consultants and private-sector developers involved in restructuring the project, saying their contributions had helped place Saglemi on what he described as a more sustainable path.
He also rejected criticisms of the private-sector approach, arguing that opposition to the model during its introduction was largely political.
For Mr Oppong Nkrumah, the continuing work at Saglemi represents more than the revival of an abandoned housing project.
He said it demonstrates that private-sector participation can help deliver major public infrastructure without placing the entire financial burden on government. “I look forward to the completion so that we can all see this project see the light of day,” he said.
He used the Saglemi experience to make a broader case for stronger collaboration between government and private investors in delivering public goods and services.
“This is a testament that private-sector participation in delivering public goods and services is an idea or an approach that works and we should embrace it some more,” he said.
The Saglemi project has consequently become both a political and policy test for successive governments. Although the project originated under an earlier administration and underwent several changes under subsequent governments, its latest revival has renewed debate over how unfinished public infrastructure should be financed and completed.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the political ownership of the project was less important than ensuring that the homes were eventually completed and made available to Ghanaians.
He said he looked forward to joining other stakeholders when the project is finally completed, stressing that successful delivery should remain the ultimate objective regardless of which government receives political credit for the finished development.
