Accra, Nov. 30, GNA – Government has called on the Architectural and Engineering Services Limited (AESL) to provide multidisciplinary design services to raise the quality of the built environment and to contribute towards reducing the housing deficit in the country.

At the AESL’s maiden Annual General Meeting held in Accra, Dr Mustapha Ahmed, Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing in a speech read on behalf of the Sector Minister, placed the country’s housing deficit at 1.5 million.

This was contained in a release issued by the Public Relations Unit of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing (MWRWH) to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Wednesday.

It said Dr Ahmed called on the management of AESL to roll out management and technological leadership training programmes to augment the talent base of the institution.

“In so doing, you will have a team of dedicated and motivated work-force capable of positioning the institution to seize the opportunities and successfully address itself to the environmental challenges,” the release quoted him as saying.

It said the Deputy Minister called on AESL to improve its supervisory role on contractors to ensure they delivered high quality projects within timelines and to give their clients value for money.

The release added that Dr Ahmed called on the Board and Management to ensure that an appropriate professional code of ethics were practiced to discourage negligence, conflicts of interest, collusive tendering, fraud, confidentiality and propriety breach, bribery as well as violation of environmental ethics.

It said he praised management for its contributions towards free practical training for students from universities and polytechnics.

The release said Mr Louis Satchmo Attia Atongo, Managing Director of AESL said his outfit would between 2012-2013 implement an investment plan to acquire Land Surveying and Geotechnical Equipment, Electrical Testing Equipment, Vehicles and the Rehabilitation of Bungalows.

It said the institution acquired more than 400 projects in 2010 mainly from the Volta River Authority, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, Energy Commission, Tema Oil Refinery, Standard Chartered Bank Limited and Agricultural Development Bank.

“The institution will continue to adopt an aggressive marketing posture, and also build on our strategies to combat the intense competition in the industry and ensure improvement in job acquisition in the ensuing years,” the release quoted him as saying.

The release concluded by saying that AESL is an agency under the MWRWH.