State Housing staff demand reinstatement of MD
Some workers of the State Housing Company (SHC), have demanded the immediate reinstatement of their Managing Director, Mr Mark Nii Akwei Ankrah, for the smooth running of the company’s operations.
According to them, Mr Ankrah’s absence from office is stifling the company’s operations and frustrating the range of strategic investors that have come on board since he took office a year ago.
"We want them (the authorities) to bring our MD back,” some executive members of the senior staff association and the staff union, who claimed anonymity told the Daily Graphic in Accra.
Mr Ankrah, a social housing specialist, was appointed to the position in February, 2010. He was, however, directed to proceed on leave in December, 2010 for the Ministry of Water Resources Works and Housing to investigate allegations levelled against him by some staff members.
Prior to that, the SHC Board had investigated some allegations and submitted their findings to the ministry but the ministry decided to conduct its own investigations for which reason it asked Mr Ankrah to step aside.
The staff members lamented that from 2008 till date, the SHC had had four managing directors, majority of them removed because of one form of staff agitation or the other.
Mr Ankrah
“So is it the managing directors who are not good or the workers, one of them asked, adding: “What we realise is that anytime a few people lose their illegal sources of income, they start a problem, ” they said.
The workers intimated that those agitating for Mr Ankrah’s removal were doing so because he instituted reforms that had plugged loopholes that made it impossible for some people to make financial gains at the expense of the company.
Before Mr Ankrah’s appointment, housing construction, the corporation’s core business and a major source of revenue had come to a halt.
“Investors were not coming in and we couldn’t pay our contractors, ” one source in the Estate Department confirmed.
The fortunes of the company started to turn around since he took office last year. “Our bank accounts, which were in the red and were showing positive returns again,” they said.
Information indicates that the company’s head office returns had increased every month throughout last year, registering an end of year revenue of more than GHQ 1.6 million, the highest in the last five years.
The workers attributed the positive returns to initiatives instituted by Mr Ankrah after consulting with the designated departments and seeking the board’s approval.
Various levies such as ground rent which had not been reviewed in the last 10 years were increased. For instance, until 2010, SHC was still charging GH¢ 1.90 per month as ground rent for a 100 x 100 plot at the Airport Residential Area but that was increased to GH¢ 10.00 when Mr Ankrah took over.
According to the workers, SHC last year signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a number of investors, some of whom are expected to start construction of various housing projects this year, but are being delayed because of current developments in the company.
Asked about allegations in some private newspapers that Mr Ankrah sold a house belonging to the company at North Labone for peanuts, a source at the finance department described the allegations “as false”, explaining that the said house was previously leased to a client at GH¢ 1,293.00 but when the lease came up for renewal, Mr Ankrah felt that for such a prime area, the house was undervalued and directed that the property be re-evaluated following which he proposed an increment to GH¢ 134,000.
On allegations that Mr Ankrah was living in a guesthouse being paid for by the SHC, the workers said that was far from the truth.
They told the Daily Graphic that Mr Ankrah received rent allowance, which was 20 per cent of his gross salary in accordance with the public service regulations.
According to them, when Mr Ankrah took office, the board directed that one of the SHC’s properties be refurbished for his use but when the estimate for the refurbishment was generated, Mr Ankrah said it was too huge an expenditure giving the company’s financial situation at the time and suggested that the project be put on hold.
“As I speak to you, the MD lives in a private home paid for by himself.”
The workers said having worked with Mr Ankrah for almost a year, they were convinced that he had the expertise and commitment to transform the SHC.
When the Daily Graphic contacted the Ministry of Water Resources Works and Housing on the status of the investigations, an official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the Ministry was still investigating the matter, and therefore, declined to comment.
According to them, Mr Ankrah’s absence from office is stifling the company’s operations and frustrating the range of strategic investors that have come on board since he took office a year ago."We want them (the authorities) to bring our MD back,” some executive members of the senior staff association and the staff union, who claimed anonymity told the Daily Graphic in Accra.
Mr Ankrah, a social housing specialist, was appointed to the position in February, 2010. He was, however, directed to proceed on leave in December, 2010 for the Ministry of Water Resources Works and Housing to investigate allegations levelled against him by some staff members.
Prior to that, the SHC Board had investigated some allegations and submitted their findings to the ministry but the ministry decided to conduct its own investigations for which reason it asked Mr Ankrah to step aside.
The staff members lamented that from 2008 till date, the SHC had had four managing directors, majority of them removed because of one form of staff agitation or the other.
Mr Ankrah
“So is it the managing directors who are not good or the workers, one of them asked, adding: “What we realise is that anytime a few people lose their illegal sources of income, they start a problem, ” they said.
The workers intimated that those agitating for Mr Ankrah’s removal were doing so because he instituted reforms that had plugged loopholes that made it impossible for some people to make financial gains at the expense of the company.
Before Mr Ankrah’s appointment, housing construction, the corporation’s core business and a major source of revenue had come to a halt.
“Investors were not coming in and we couldn’t pay our contractors, ” one source in the Estate Department confirmed.
The fortunes of the company started to turn around since he took office last year. “Our bank accounts, which were in the red and were showing positive returns again,” they said.
Information indicates that the company’s head office returns had increased every month throughout last year, registering an end of year revenue of more than GHQ 1.6 million, the highest in the last five years.
The workers attributed the positive returns to initiatives instituted by Mr Ankrah after consulting with the designated departments and seeking the board’s approval.
Various levies such as ground rent which had not been reviewed in the last 10 years were increased. For instance, until 2010, SHC was still charging GH¢ 1.90 per month as ground rent for a 100 x 100 plot at the Airport Residential Area but that was increased to GH¢ 10.00 when Mr Ankrah took over.
According to the workers, SHC last year signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a number of investors, some of whom are expected to start construction of various housing projects this year, but are being delayed because of current developments in the company.
Asked about allegations in some private newspapers that Mr Ankrah sold a house belonging to the company at North Labone for peanuts, a source at the finance department described the allegations “as false”, explaining that the said house was previously leased to a client at GH¢ 1,293.00 but when the lease came up for renewal, Mr Ankrah felt that for such a prime area, the house was undervalued and directed that the property be re-evaluated following which he proposed an increment to GH¢ 134,000.
On allegations that Mr Ankrah was living in a guesthouse being paid for by the SHC, the workers said that was far from the truth.
They told the Daily Graphic that Mr Ankrah received rent allowance, which was 20 per cent of his gross salary in accordance with the public service regulations.
According to them, when Mr Ankrah took office, the board directed that one of the SHC’s properties be refurbished for his use but when the estimate for the refurbishment was generated, Mr Ankrah said it was too huge an expenditure giving the company’s financial situation at the time and suggested that the project be put on hold.
“As I speak to you, the MD lives in a private home paid for by himself.”
The workers said having worked with Mr Ankrah for almost a year, they were convinced that he had the expertise and commitment to transform the SHC.
When the Daily Graphic contacted the Ministry of Water Resources Works and Housing on the status of the investigations, an official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the Ministry was still investigating the matter, and therefore, declined to comment.
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