Parliament finally approves STX deal

Parliament in session   The Parliament of the Republic of Ghana has approved the controversial deal in which STX Engineering and Construction Ghana Limited will build 30,000 houses at $1.5 bn. The deal was approved without the Minority side who argued deliberations over the proposed contract must halt pending the outcome of a Supreme Court suit challenging its constitutionality. The Minority also argued the Majority showed a betrayal of trust after the two sides had agreed in a caucus meeting to delay the debate for a week for more work to be done on the deal. The Minority staged a walkout after the First Deputy Speaker, Doe Adjaho, who sat in for the Speaker Joyce Bamford Addo, suspended sitting for an hour and directed the Joint Committee to consider two more documents the Majority was compelled to furnish the House with - Off Taker and Joint Venture agreements. It became apparent the Majority side was bent on giving accent to the deal which has been on the front burner for some weeks now. The unanimous decision of the 117 Majority legislators, including the Speaker Doe Adjaho, means STX Engineering and Construction Ghana Limited will start construction work soon. Works and Housing Minister Alban Bagbin says 20,000 housing units will be given to the police service whilst the remaining 10,000 will go the military and other security agencies. He accused the Minority of deliberately attempting to frustrate the process and the House went ahead to approve the bill, thanks to the rule of simple majority. The House approved three documents, Off-taker, Joint Venture and Supplier's Credit agreements. Lone ranger Member of Parliament for Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa, PC Appiah Ofori, was the only Minority MP who sat through the long-drawn proceedings which ran into Wednesday after it started at 10:00am Tuesday. The legislator argued the deal was not in the best interest of the nation, adding, the cost burden would be unbearable. Mr Appiah Ofori exited the building after tabling his final points and bidding his colleague legislators 'good night.' Confusion The STX deal has torched off one of the sharpest Majority-Minority disagreements in the history of Parliament. Water Resources Works and Housing Minister, Alban Bagbin, bemoaned the situation where the contract had taken a political tinge. "If you don't like this, what else do you want," he said at a recent press conference to explain the details of the deal. Story by Fiifi Koomson/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana