An exposé by policy analyst and vice president of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons has reignited national debate over the Saglemi Housing Project, branding the saga a textbook case of “katanomics”—a term he uses to describe Ghana’s chronic disconnection between politics and policy.
Simons’ commentary, published on X and picked up by observers, traces the origins of the Saglemi mess to 2012–2013, when the Government of Ghana borrowed $200 million from Credit Suisse at a steep 12.5% interest rate. Of that, around $180 million was paid to the Ghanaian subsidiary of Brazilian construction giant Construtora OAS to build 5,000 affordable housing units.
Instead, only 1,506 units were completed—none habitable due to lack of water, electricity, drainage, and structural planning. According to Simons, “massive political will” to show results collided with weak policy frameworks, creating a facade of progress without coherent delivery systems.
The ballooning cost—an estimated $200,000 per unit—makes the notion of “affordable housing” farcical, Simons argues. A change in government in 2017 brought prosecutions of former officials and business executives involved in altering the original contracts, which allegedly caused financial losses.
However, the political sands shifted again in 2025. The new administration, which includes key figures previously on trial, dropped the prosecutions within two months in office, declaring the cases “ill-conceived.”
Ironically, just months after this legal about-face, Construtora OAS has taken the government to international arbitration in Paris under ICC rules, demanding nearly $10 million in lost profits. Ghana’s legal team now finds itself advancing arguments in Paris that it recently abandoned in local courts—namely that the contract amendments were illegal and the contractor underperformed.
Simons describes this as the clearest sign of “katanomic dysfunction,” where leaders prioritize partisan convenience over national interest, and where public accountability is sacrificed for political expediency.
“If you were an arbitrator,” Simons asks, “would you believe the same government that just a few months ago dropped prosecutions based on the exact claims it’s now defending abroad?”
The unfolding legal and financial consequences of the Saglemi debacle could have lasting implications—not just for Ghana’s public purse, but for public trust in how governments manage major infrastructure projects.
