I'll not disclose cost of new NDC headquarters — Asiedu Nketia (photos)
The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has admitted that the party has built an ultra-modern office complex, but will not disclose how much it cost.
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The four-storey building has been at the centre of controversy since news broke that the party spent about US$20 million to construct it.
However, the scribe of the party defended the decision to put up the new headquarters at Adabraka in Accra, saying, “it is more expensive to rent an apartment than build a new office.”
Speaking to the media last Wednesday, he said that the party had to pay huge rents for occupying its former headquarters at Asylum Down in Accra, describing such expenditures as wasteful.
He was joined at the meeting by some national and regional executive members of the party, including the National Organiser, Mr Yaw Boateng Gyan and the National Women’s Organiser, Ms Anita De-Sooso.
“Per the calculations we made, we realised that it will be cheaper to build a new headquarters than spend huge sums of resources on rents.
“We took this decision because the NDC has come to stay, ” the General Secretary stated.
Denial
“Most of the party’s press conferences are held in hotels and rented spaces, which are very expensive but with our new office all these expenses will stop,” he said.
Mr Nketia, however, stopped short of disclosing how much it cost the party to build its new office complex, denying media allegations that it cost the party $20 million to build the new edifice.
New properties for regions
Mr Asiedu Nketia said since building a new office for the party was more cost- effective than paying huge rents, the leadership of the party had directed all the regional executives of the party to also acquire new offices.
That, he said, would enable them to stop paying rent for apartments.
“Already our regional executive in the Ashanti and the Central regions have almost completed the construction of their new offices and those in the Western and Eastern regions have started the process to do the same,” he said.
Muteness over funding of project
Asked how the party was able to raise funds to finance the new headquarters building, the General Secretary refused to answer the question.
