State Housing Company Saga �Committee Implicates Ex-MD

A committee set-up to investigate allegations of financial malfeasance against Dr. Mark Nii Akwei Ankrah, the former Managing Director of State Housing Company Limited (SHC), has indicted him after weeks of investigations, sources close to the Committee have revealed.

The Committee, which completed its work last week, is expected to submit its report to the Ministry of Water Resources Works and Housing, the supervisory ministry, this week.

Dr. Ankrah was asked to step aside following a petition filed by workers of SHC Limited with the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing -- accusing the then-Managing Director of financial misappropriation.

The ministry then put together a three-member Committee to investigate the allegations against Dr. Ankrah who was appointed Managing Director of the housing-focused company in 2009.

It subsequently appointed Mr. Isaac Nai, the Manager in charge of Finance and Administration, as interim Managing Director to run the company affairs.  

The State Housing Company Limited is primarily mandated to provide nationwide profitable and affordable housing to bridge the estimated 1.7 million housing-unit deficit in the country, having been converted to a limited liability company in 1995.

This entails acquisition of land, planning and development of the land into housing estates with requisite amenities. The houses, school sites are leased or rented out to individuals and institutions, both private and public

The company has over the years “achieved impressive landmarks in the real estate industry by providing affordable and quality housing estates. We have an enviable reputation for being the only real estate developer operating all over the country,” according to information available on its website.

“State Housing Company Limited is committed to the objective of being a profitable nationwide housing agency; one that makes housing easily accessible to institutions and individual Ghanaians at home and abroad.”

National Housing Registry
The company in 2012 began a National Housing Registry thatprovides empirical data to give a true reflection of the country’s housing deficit.

The company said in 2012 that it was redeveloping its old estatesat Kaneshie, Kanda and Laterbiokorshie. The public were required to pay a non-refundable registration fee of US$100 equivalent in Ghana cedis for one-bedroom;US$130 or its equivalent in cedis for two-bedrooms;US$150 equivalent in cedis for three bedrooms; and US$200 equivalent in cedis for four plus bedrooms.

Though this generated a lot of excitement, little has been heard about the said projects aimed at bridging the country’s housing deficit.