Ablakwa’s NDC sold Parks and Gardens, judges’ residence, and other state lands

It is emerging that a number of public lands which the Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, alleges have been sold by the Government of President Akufo-Addo as part of what he says is a state capture by the current Government, were in fact sold under the Government of President John Dramani Mahama, under which he served as a Deputy Minister of State.
A press statement issued by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor, MP, chronicled the history of the transactions on each of the lands alleged to have been sold by the current Government.
It would be recalled that the North Tongu Legislator, in a series of social media posts, alleged that the Government of President Akufo-Addo was engaged in the sale of public lands to its cronies and associates, as part of a state capture.
Some of the lands alleged by Mr. Ablakwa to have been sold by the current administration are the Department of Parks and Gardens and the Judicial Service lands, both at Cantonments, Prison Service land at Roman Ridge, Department of Parks and Gardens land in Wa, and the Du Bois Centre, here in Accra.
However, in a 59-paragraph press statement issued yesterday, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources says records from the Lands Commission reveal that most of these lands were sold between 2013 and 2016, when Mr. Ablakwa was Deputy Minister under President John Dramani Mahama.
In the case of the Department of Parks and Gardens land at Cantonments, for example, it was revealed that the then Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, wrote to the Lands Commission in 2012, requesting to sell the land to raise funds to resource the Department of Parks and Gardens.
The Minister’s letter said, “the Ministry has received a number of interests in the land over the years,” and that “proceeds from the sale shall be used to provide Parks and Gardens with a new office, staff bus, some tractors, water tankers and the needed hand tools it is currently in dire need of, to restructure and reposition itself as a viable government agency.”
The Attorney-General, by a letter dated June 13, 2014, also gave approval for the land to be sold to Wontirim Company Limited, a subsidiary of Akumbami & Associates.
By a lease dated November 29, 2016, the Government granted two acres of land occupied by Parks and Gardens at Cantonments to Wontirim Company Limited, a subsidiary of Akumbami & Associates, for a term of 50 years, which in turn assigned part of its interest to Dani Ike Real Estate Developers Company Limited.
Even though the land was leased in 2016 as requested, proceeds from the sale were not used for the intended purpose, as the Department of Parks and Gardens is still battling with a befitting office space and other tools and machinery required for its work.
In respect of the Judicial Service land, Frimps Oil Company Limited applied for the land in 2014, and by a letter dated June 2, 2015, then Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Nii Osah Mills, granted approval for the land to be granted to the company.
This was supported by the Ministry of Works and Housing, and on July 13, 2015, a lease was executed over the land in favor of Frimps Oil Co. Ltd for a term of 50 years.
This land was, therefore, sold under the previous administration.
The statement also said the Prison Service land was leased to one Prof. Appiah-Adu in 2005, and not under the current administration, while the allegations about the sale of the land occupied by the Du Bois Centre are a total falsehood.
It added that, from the foregoing, lands, the subject matter of the Member of Parliament’s allegations, were not sold and/or leased under the current administration, and the allegations of state capture are, therefore, false.
The Minister assured the general public of the commitment of the Government of President Akufo-Addo to an efficient and effective land administration that is anchored on the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and candor, in the public interest, and will, therefore, continue to work with all stakeholders to deliver an effective, transparent, responsive, and orderly land administration which is above board and steeped in integrity.