Kufuor Weeps Over Land Seizures

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has lashed out at the current government for reversing the sale of prime government lands to his cronies, even after they had paid for he lands with their hard-earned money.

Mr. Kufuor told the Financial Times of London that, while the new government is busy seizing their lands, they are also busy grabbing cars. “We didn’t have to confiscate anyone’s assets …. Now they are grabbing cars! Don’t let me talk too much. People who were given plots of land in Accra to build, now they come and, in spite of people having paid, now they come and take the land back. So I wonder what is happening,” he said.

The issue of the public land sale started in 2007, when the NPP government, under President Kufuor directed the regional Lands Commission in Accra to re-zone the international Students Hostel land, which had initially earmarked for cultural purposes, for residential.

Once the order was complied with, the government created about 36 plots and literally distributed them to themselves, their families and their cronies.

Meanwhile, at the time the students’ hostel was shared under the Kufuor government, the land had already been earmarked for the construction of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.The Chinese government had assured the then government that it was going to give it a grant to construct a plush building for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

The current National Security, following public agitations over the wholesale rape of public lands by the previous regime, set up a committee, which has recommended the retrieval of some of the lands which were sold without regard to the law and rules.

The list of beneficiaries included Mrs. Justice Georgina Wood, Chief Justice of Ghana; Freddie W. Blay, Former-Deputy Speaker of Parliament; Akwasi Osei Adjei, Ex-Minister for Foreign Affairs, K.T. Hammond, Former Deputy Minister and MP for Adansi Asokwa.

The others include Ben Owusu Mensah, Former Director General of GPHA and nephew of President Kufuor; Osei Kufuor, Frank Mpare, Secretary to Kufuor’s Cabinet; Chief Director of the Ministry of Defence respectively, K.K. Sarpong, MD for Tema Oil Refinery, Esther Obeng Dapaah MP for Abrem, Ambassador Kobina Wood and Irene Addo, MP for Tema West.

Oboshie Sai Cofie, former Minister of Tourism, Dr. Abu Sahara, CPP Vice-Presidential Candidate and Hajia Mahama, former Minister for Women and Children’s Affairs were some of the beneficiaries. In other parts of the country, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng and a whole lot of government officials and cronies all purchased government bungalows.

In all, about seven government bungalows were sold to government officials and family members.