Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, MP for North Tongu, has taken issue with Hon. Abu Jinapor, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, over his claims about the sale of public lands, suggesting that the Minister’s statements are misleading and lack factual accuracy.
According to Hon. Ablakwa, newly obtained documents from the Lands Commission reveal that President Akufo-Addo has been actively involved in selling public lands, contradicting Minister Abu Jinapor’s claims made just two days prior.
These documents, he indicated, suggest that the President’s actions are at odds with the Minister’s assurances, indicating a significant discrepancy in their public statements.
“As the Lands Minister under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government puts out deceptive and dishonest assurances that public lands vested under their care on the people’s behalf are ‘safe, intact and secure’ more and more incontrovertible documents continue to expose government’s duplicity”.
“The intercepted documents in my possession are official search certificates on North La lands from the Lands Commission dated 14th August, 2023, addressed to the La Stool and signed by Gordon Ashirifie, Assistant Land Administration Officer”.
Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
Hon. Ablakwa added that this development came after the La Stool submitted an application on August 7, 2023, requesting information on the current status of state lands that were originally acquired by the government from the La Stool on March 11, 1943.
He highlighted that the search results failed to match the promises made that public lands were ‘safe, intact, and secure’, suggesting a potential issue with the management or protection of these lands.
The North Tongu MP revealed that, contrary to expectations, the search results exposed a transaction where President Akufo-Addo sold portions of public land to Mask Business Consult on September 3, 2019.
Hon. Ablakwa further noted that the documents showed that President Akufo-Addo had sold further parcels of public land to Fulmen Limited on June 29, 2020, raising more concerns about the management of public assets.
Akufo-Addo Sold More Public Land
Moreover, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa alleged that President Akufo-Addo sold additional portions of public land to Amantra Limited on October 1, 2020, marking yet another controversial transaction.
Hon. Ablakwa further observed that Amantra Limited, after acquiring the land from President Akufo-Addo, subsequently engaged in a series of resale transactions, selling portions to B5 Plus Limited and Devnik Ghana Limited on November 5, 2020.
He stated that Amantra Limited later disposed off the remaining portions to Unique Development Company Limited on November 27, 2020
“It’s quite intriguing to discover that not even the profound enormity of COVID-19 in 2020 could compel President Akufo-Addo to suspend his insatiable appetite for selling public lands”.
“It would be quite interesting to know how much these lands were sold for considering that some buyers appear to be highly connected middlemen who immediately resold the lands to well-established companies with fat turnovers such as B5 Plus and Unique Development. SOA Oversight is still digging”.
Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
Hon. Ablakwa also raised concerns about the lack of transparency and accountability in these land sales, questioning why they are conducted in secrecy and without the knowledge or consent of the citizenry, who are the rightful owners of these public lands.
As such, he stated that this latest State Capture exposé, together with all the others, should explain why the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has refused to publish the full list of state lands sold and those remaining, if any, as demanded by the NDC Caucus in Parliament over two years ago.
Hon. Ablakwa expressed relief that incoming President Mahama has vowed to establish a Commission of Inquiry, which will investigate the unauthorized sale of state lands and recover those that have been misappropriated, providing a sense of hope for accountability and restitution.
“They can run but they can’t hide. State Capture shall surely be defeated!” – Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
