Mr Enoch Teye- Mensah, Minister for Water Resources, Working and Housing said Ghana has gone beyond the era of abandoning good projects started by previous governments merely because it was started by its predecessor.
"We have completed many projects started by the last New Patriotic Party's (NPP) administration such as the George Bush Highway", he added.
The Minister said this during a press briefing on Wednesday in Accra to apprise the media of projects currently going on as part of government's continuous commitment to address the housing shortfall in the country and to react to a statement by Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Add, NPP presidential candidate.
He said the flagbearer during his meeting with members of the Ghana Real Estates Development Association (GREDA), as part of his campaign efforts described the National Democratic Congress (NDC) led government as a spectacular failure to provide a single housing unit for Ghanaians.
He said GREDA was established during the NDC 1 administration and therefore the NDC government would not kill her own baby but would rather nurture it for government to achieve her better Ghana agenda.
According to Mr Teye-Mensah right from independence to date if any government has ever failed Ghanaians in the provision of housing units, then it was the NPP.
The Minister opined that it was the NPP and her antecedents who sold government bungalows to themselves and their cronies in Tema, Accra, among others, saying the NPP did virtually nothing concerning the housing sector until the last two years of their eight years.
He raked the Convention People Party of Nkrumah as number one in the provision of housing for the people, followed by the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) and the NDC 1 of Ft Lt J.J. Rawlings and the regime of the National Redemption Council (NRC) of General Ignatius Acheampong.
He reiterated that it was during the NDC 1 era that Sakomono Estates, Tema Community three, Adenta Estates and Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) estates were constructed in all ten regional capitals in the country.
Mr Teye-Mensah advised the Presidential Candidate of the NPP to cross check his facts before coming out to make certain pronouncements, saying these facts could easily have been ascertained by the advisers of the NPP Presidential Candidate by making him quote 6,000 housing units instead of the 4,720, and by this they make him appear not to know the total housing stock started by his own government in which he was a senior cabinet member.
He urged him to emulate President Mahama who always caution against over promising to avoid reaping deception ad losing the trust of the people.
The Minister emphasized that the 4,720 housing units started by the NPP in the eight years in power was made up of 1,896 one-unit bedroom and 2,824 two-bedroom units started in 2006 which were at various stages of completion at Borteyman-Nungua, Kpone, Asokore-Mampong, Koforidua, Tamale and Wa.
He mentioned that the Ghana Armed Forces had been allocated 48 units at Borteyman to complete for occupation of officers and work, while the State Housing Corporation (STC) was pre-financing the completion of the 48 units at the Borteyman site.
Mr Teye-Mensah further explained that the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) has proposed to purchase and complete 110 of the one bedroom units and 248 of the two-bedroom at Kpone Affordable site, however, details we still being worked out.
He indicated that a number of housing projects embarked upon by the government include: 168 housing units in Tema for the Bureau of National Investigations by Messrs Amandi Holding Ltd, 5,000 housing units at Kpone by Messrs Sethi Realty Ltd, 10,000 housing units at Amansaman by Messrs Agu Resources Ltd, 200 housing units by Messrs Agency Biwade Ltd, 5,000housing units by Messrs American Capital Partners and the completion of 4,720 the affordable housing units.