Job 600 is a Government building in

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. The post-independence structure, which is just behind the Parliament House, was commissioned by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana, in 1965. The building underwent massive renovation to serve as an office complex for Members of Ghana's Parliament and was completed in 2016.

History

Job 600 was constructed to serve as the venue for the 1965 meeting of the

Organization of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; french: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's ...

. It is estimated to have cost more than £4 million. Dr. Nkrumah believed that the building would showcase Ghana as a country with the potential and ability to host international events, and a demonstration of Africa's growing technical capabilities.

Renovation

In 2007 the

John Kufuor John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor (born 8 December 1938) is a Ghanaian politician who served as the President of Ghana from 7 January 2001 to 7 January 2009. He was also Chairperson of the African Union from 2007 to 2008. Kufuor's career has been sp ...

administration secured a loan facility of a 25 million US dollars from the

Social Security and National Insurance Trust The Social Security and National Insurance Trust, is an agency of the government of Ghana. Its job description, according to itwebsite is to administrate the National Pension Scheme. In so doing, the trust owns major amounts of stock in Ghana's ...

for the renovation of the structure. The government stated that upon completion the ''new'' Job 600 would serve as an office complex to house the Members of the Ghanaian parliament.

Financial cost

The cost of the project was initially estimated at 62.8 million dollars. In 2011, the estimate for renovating the building was adjusted upwards by 39 million dollars. The increased cost was due to

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...

End structure

In addition to the original 1965 structure, the ''new'' Job 600 will have two new blocks built behind it. One of the new blocks will serve as an auditorium while the other will house a

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...

, restaurants, a

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...

and banks. The complex will consist of 252 offices for members of parliament and offices for research assistants and secretaries. The entire structure will be completed in August 2012.

Suggested naming rights

Prior to the completion of the job 600 project,

Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu (previously known as Lawrence Addae and born on 3 February 1957) is a Ghanaian urban planner and politician. He is currently the majority leader in the Ghanaian Parliament and also the Minister Designate for Parliamentar ...

, the minority leader in parliament, proposed the renaming of the main Job 600 building. He suggested the building be named after the first speaker of Ghana's fourth parliament, Justice D. F. Annan, to honour the contribution he made towards the development of parliamentary affairs and democracy in Ghana. He also proposed that one of the two new blocks that were built behind the main Job 600 be named after

Peter Ala Adjetey Peter Ala Adjetey (11 August 1931 – 15 July 2008) was the Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana from 2001 to 2005. Early life Peter Ala Adjetey was born on 11 August 1931 at Accra, the capital of Ghana. He obtained his basic education at St. P ...

, who succeeded Justice Annan. Opposition to these naming issues was led by members of the

Convention People's Party The Convention People's Party (CPP) is a Socialism, socialist political party in Ghana based on the ideas of the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. The CPP was formed in June 1949 after Nkrumah broke away from the United Gold Coast Conven ...

, who believed renaming Job 600 would erase the contributions of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah from Ghanaian history.

Pre-completion disaster

On Friday, 11 May 2012, months prior to completion, fire broke out on the fifth floor of the building. Witnesses reported that the fire started in the early hours of the morning. It took several minutes before firemen from the Ghana National Fire Service were able to bring it under control.

Inauguration

The build was official inaugurated by

John Dramani Mahama John Dramani Mahama (; born 29 November 1958) is a Ghanaian politician who served as President of Ghana from 24 July 2012 to 7 January 2017. He previously served as Vice President of Ghana from January 2009 to July 2012, and took office as presi ...

on 6 November 2015

Job 600 Annex

On Tuesday 3 November 2020 President

Nana Akufo-Addo Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ( ; born 29 March 1944) is a Ghanaian politician who has served as the president of Ghana since 7 January 2017. In 2020, he was re-elected for his second term, which will end on 6 January 2025. Akufo-Addo previously ...

commissioned a 6-storey annex for the purpose of housing the extra activities of parliament. It is one of the Physical Infrastructure Enhancement Projects of Parliament. There is a 150-seat hall with a media room and archives in the basement. There are 54 offices, 11 offices for supporting staff, 26 offices for Parliamentary Support Staff and 36 offices for research assistants.

Amenities

The building upon its completion had the following amenities: * 300-seater auditorium * Gymnasium * Commercial bank *

Clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...

* Church *

Mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

* Restaurant, * MPs’ dining room * ICT centre

References

{{coord missing, Ghana Government buildings in Ghana Buildings and structures in Accra Government buildings completed in 1965