By Godwill Arthur- Mensah
Accra, March 28, GNA-Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has given the Architectural and Engineering Services Limited (AESL) a three-month ultimatum to present a structural integrity report on the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC).
The structural audit of the AICC, according to the Minister, would determine whether the facility is still fit-for-purpose.
This follows reports that the Conference Centre has developed some structural defects and posed serious threats to the public.
The Foreign Affairs Minister made this known during the approval of the Ministry’s 2025 budget allocation in Parliament on Friday.
The AICC, which is under the supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was constructed in 1991 and is the most important facility for hosting national and international events including conferences and seminars.
The largest of the six conference rooms of the AICC can accommodate 1,600 people while two committee rooms can each hold 205 delegates.
On the Ministry’s budget for the year ending 31st March 2025, Parliament approved a sum of GHS 1, 486, 199, 777.
He said Ghana spent $15 million every year on its rented property abroad and thus underscored the need to transition from renting to having its own properties to transact business.
The Minister indicated that part of the budget allocation would be used to pay the GHS 340 million debts it inherited from the previous government and that the price for a 32-page passport booklet would be reduced from GHS 500 to GHS350 to lessen the financial burden of passport applicants.
He said efforts were underway to recruit 100 staff to aid in implementing the 24-hour policy of ensuring 24/7 passport processing and meeting the seven-day delivery target via courier services.
He expressed unhappiness about the 30 per cent budget cut of the Ministry and was of the belief that the Ministry’s budget priorities must be always upheld to receive sufficient resources to facilitate its activities to attract Foreign Direct ilInvestment into the country.
The Minister announced plans to open a new Mission in Budapest, Hungary, to serve Ghanaians in that country.
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