According to Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu, President Akufo-Addo has been implicated in a State Capture scandal involving the alleged sale of state-owned lands at the prestigious AU Village and La Wireless areas.
Hon. Ablakwa alleged that on December 15th, 2023, Ken Ofori-Atta, the then-Finance Minister, acquired a property through his company, Enterprise Life Assurance, from his cousin, President Akufo-Addo.
He also disclosed that former Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood bought a property from President Akufo-Addo on October 15th, 2020.
“Akwasi Aboagye Atuah (Akufo-Addo’s appointed Board Chair of SIC at the time of transaction) — Purchased from President Akufo-Addo on 14th October 2020”.
“Dr. Janet Ampadu Fofie (Chairperson, Presidential Emoluments Committee) — 2nd purchase on 14th October 2020 & 3rd purchase on 30th October 2023 from President Akufo-Addo; Kwabena Mantey Jectey Nyarko (President Akufo-Addo’s appointee to the board of the Ghana Airport Company Limited) — 2nd purchase on 20th December 2022 from President Akufo-Addo”.
Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
Hon. Ablakwa further challenged Lands Minister Samuel Abu Jinapor’s assertion that public lands are not being sold and are “safe, intact, and secure“, demanding clarification on what exactly he meant by this statement.
According to Hon. Ablakwa, a disturbing revelation from the obtained documents is that President Akufo-Addo has leased out these public lands to new owners for an astonishingly long period, ranging from 90 to 99 years.
He alleged that further investigation revealed the sale of these public lands was shrouded in secrecy, with no public advertisement or transparent process.
The sale, the MP indicated, was instead characterized by cronyism and a lack of accountability, falling far short of acceptable standards of transparency.
Hon. Ablakwa disclosed that in 2019, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government signed an MoU with the La Traditional Council to return approximately 61.714 acres of government-acquired land at La Wireless back to the council.
He indicated, however, that the government failed to disclose that it had secretly retained about 12.5 acres of the land for questionable private deals.
State Land Sold At Shockingly Low Prices
Furthermore, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa revealed that through diligent parliamentary oversight, it has been discovered that the lands in question were sold at a significantly undervalued price, far below their actual market worth.
Hon. Ablakwa explained that he and his team conducted an analysis comparing the prices paid by politically exposed persons to the prevailing market value of the lands.
He stated that his team also examined instances of immediate resales, uncovering vast discrepancies and extremely wide disparities in the prices paid and the actual values of the lands.
“Analysts have expressed outrage at how some political appointees including Ministers of State were asked to pay as low as GH₵ 183,752.00 for a plot compared to a conservative market value of US$ 500,000.00 to US$ 600,000.00 per plot”.
“From the evidence, Ghanaians are not only losing their public lands to State Capture on an alarming scale, we are also not getting value for money under these unconscionable and dubious sales. The naked looting of state lands cannot be allowed to continue”.
Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
Hon. Ablakwa noted that there is a growing demand among many Ghanaians for swift and decisive action to be taken to prevent further State Capture and to recover all assets that have been misappropriated or looted.
Hon. Ablakwa pointed out that the NPP’s manifesto has failed to address the “rot”, likely due to high-level involvement, leaving Ghanaians without a solution from the current government.
He noted that as a result, Ghanaians are now looking to the NDC to provide a solution and restore the country’s integrity, which will be outlined in the NDC’s manifesto to be launched today, 24th August 2024.
Hon. Ablakwa expressed his conviction that Former President Mahama and the NDC are Ghana’s only hope for a better future.
He emphasized that he is confident the NDC will not let down the good people of Ghana, who deserve an end to the widespread corruption and plunder they are currently suffering.
Hon. Ablakwa emphasized that Ghana is in urgent need of far-reaching and transformative governance reforms to eradicate the pervasive problem of State Capture and restore transparency and accountability.
“One thing is certain, State Capture shall surely be defeated”. – Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
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