A former presidential staffer in the former John Mahama administration says if there was anything untoward about the Saglemi project, and any person is to be prosecuted, it should be E. T. Mensah.

Enoch Teye Mensah, currently a Member of State, was the Minister for Works and Housing when the contract for the Saglemi Housing project was signed.

Collins Dauda is currently facing charges over the project and has been charged by the state with causing financial loss to the state in the Saglemi Housing deal.

The erstwhile Minister, who supervised the initiative when it was approved by Parliament, has also been charged with intentionally misapplying public property.

In the particulars of offences, he is said to have intentionally misapplied $200 million, “by causing the said amount, which had been approved by the Parliament of Ghana for the construction of 5,000 housing units, to be applied towards the payment of 1,412 housing units under the Saglemi Affordable Housing Project.”

Former Works and Housing Minister E. T. Mensah has expressed surprise at some comments made regarding the NDC administration’s handling of the controversial Saglemi Housing project.

Speaking to the host of Good Evening Ghana on Metro TV, Paul Adom Otchere, Mr Mensah said anyone who claims the $200 million loan agreement did not cover ancillary works does not know what he is talking about.

On whether the project was to be executed in phases, the former Minister described the statement as a lie.

“It is a lie. I was not into any phases. We knew that we wanted to build, that is, 5,000 houses to be built for workers, and it was approved; executive approval was given, and parliament approved it, so if anything at all, If I wanted to change something, I had to go through the same process again,” he said.

Reacting on Facebook to the former Minister’s claims, Stan Dogbe wrote that per his review of documents on the matter, which were all signed by E.T. Mensah, if anyone should be prosecuted, it should be him.

“Upon my review of documents available to me, on the matter of the Saglemi Housing project, which agreement including the EPC and Works Contracts were all, and I mean all, signed by the then Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Enoch Teye Mensah, I can safely conclude and say that if indeed there’s been any untoward conduct, loss of funds to the State, or a legally reasonable reason to prosecute anybody in relation to that project, then the person the Attorney General should be prosecuting is Mr Enoch Teye Mensah, the then Minister.

Any act that requires prosecution or financial loss for that matter is the result of his actions and decisions, and signing of the agreement.”