The Ghanaian partner in the STX housing deal, Bernard Kwabena Asamoah, has apologised to President John Evans Atta Mills for the embarrassment caused him and his administration as a result of the delay in the start of the project.
�I want to take this opportunity to apologise to the President for the embarrassment. The delay is not from governement, but had to do with the shareholders,� he told newsmen shortly after yesterday�s court proceedings in the STX case at the Accra Commercial Court.
The government has taken a lot of criticism from the Minority in Parliament, as well as a section of Ghanaians for the delay in the start of work four months after the groundbreaking ceremony to kick start the execution of the project was the result of a shareholding impasse that resulted in a legal tussle between the Ghanaian and Korean partners over who are alleged breach of the joint Venture Agreement and Heads of Agreement.
He said the embarrassment had been of a great concern to them, for which reason they resolved to ensure an amicable settlement of the case out of court.
Mr Asamoah said the decision by the litigation parties to come to some terms of settlement is in the right direction, explaining that barring any last minute disagreement on the settlements, the legal tussle will be over for the project to take off immediately.
He assured the government and the people of Ghana that once the legal tussle is laid to rest by November 24, when the Commercial Court is expected to adopt the commencement first week in December�.
He said the delay will in no way affect the prompt execution of the project, adding that a lot of Ghanaians will be engaged to ensure that the project is completed on schedule.
He said funds had already been secured, and the company expected to offer the technological expertise, western forms of the US, is on standby.
The entire project, valued at 10 billion dollars, involves the construction of 200,000 houses, 30,000 of which is meant for personnel of the security agencies, while the remaining will be put up on the market for Ghanaians to acquire through a mortgage facility spread over 15 years.
Apart from the first phase of the project where the government is expected to provide sovereign guarantee to cover the cost, the second and third phases will not be subject to any such guarantee.
<<Print>>