... waiting on financiers from 'Non-existent' Yugoslavia
Five years after the ejection of some former minister of state and civil servants from their homes at Nkrumah Flats at Lartebiokoshie in Accra to accommodate new ministers and bungalows are still unoccupied by state officials and are in complete disrepair.

The ejection (read) was carried out by the then Ministry of Works and Housing, which said it was to pave way for the renovation of flats for newly appointed ministers and government functionaries to occupy.

Although known as ? Nkrumah Flats? it consists of blocks of flats and bungalows.

A visit to the site confirmed that the intended renovation of the bungalows has not been carried out and squatters are occupying the bungalows.

The then minister of Works and Housing, Kwamena Bartels was quoted as saying in July, 2001 (read) that the Nkrumah flats together with other government bungalows had been given out to contractors and the rehabilitation work would be completed in two weeks to enable the ministers to move in.

However, it was learnt this week that ministers and other government officials who were asked to occupy the bungalows refused because of their poor state.

It was also discovered that some of the items in the bungalows such as furniture and louver blades have either been stolen or are in deplorable state.

The surroundings are very weedy and the squatters complain of frequent encounters by snakes and other reptiles especially in the night.

Security is virtually non-existent making the area prone to robbery.

A source at the Water Resources, Works and Housing ministry on Tuesday said the government had not yet raised the funds to rehabilitate the facility.

It said that although the ministry had managed to get some financiers from Yugoslavia, Italy and Israel who expressed interest in pre-financing the project.

?Their terms were not good enough?

The source said the situation at the flats did not make it possible for ministers and top civil servants to live in them.