The Managing Director of the State Housing Company, Kwabena Ampofo Appiah says the company under his leadership has strived to implement and enforce controls leading to a prevention of infractions contrary to what is usually captured in the Auditor General's Report.

Kwabena Ampofo Appiah led a team from the Company to answer questions before Parliament's Public Accounts Committee.

The Committee commended the company for reducing infractions and irregularities as reported in the 2021 report of the Auditor General.

Speaking to JoyNews after the sitting, Kwabena Ampofo Appiah explained that the company under his leadership has put in place stringent management controls to prevent the occurrence of such irregularities and infractions.

"The change in leadership has brought in a new sense of wanting to build the company and the staff are helping us to get these things right. The two issues we dealt with are from 2016 and even some earlier than that and thankfully we have been able to resolve all that. We are hoping that as the years go by, the company will improve and the infractions will get smaller and smaller", the MD told JoyNews.

The Public Accounts Committee has been holding public hearings on the 2021 Report of the Auditor General which has brought to the fore significant infractions and irregularities in the operations of many state-owned institutions.

The committee will present its report, including recommendations to Parliament.

The company had previously been reported to have failed to collect its debts contrary to Section 91 of the Public Financial Management Act 2016, (Act 921), which provides that, the Board of Directors of a public corporation shall ensure the efficient management of the financial resources of the public corporation including the collection and receipt of moneys due to that public corporation.

“Customers who purchased flats/ units at the Borteyman Housing Estate on a hire purchase were given the right of entry and were required to make annual or monthly instalment payments in accordance with the payment plans selected by the customers. However, we noted from the review of receivables that six clients who bought six of these houses between August 2016 and March 2017 had defaulted payments totalling GH$430,796. Out of the total amount only one person had paid GH¢6,000 as at the end of 2019.”

Overdue Receivable from ECG - GHȼ223,595.17
The report noted that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) possesses plots of land belonging to State Housing Company Limited in Takoradi since the year 2003, and while several efforts had been made by management to sell or recover the lands from ECG, it has been unsuccessful and that State Housing Company risked losing the lands.

The Auditor General’s Report recommended that management of SHC consider taking legal action against ECG to recover the land, however management of SHC responded that they have had a meeting with ECG and that the latter had agreed to pay the amount in instalments.

But Mr. Ampofoh says there are new ways of doing business at the SHC.