'Parliament has not sold any state asset to private developers'- Kate Addo

Parliament of Ghana has denied media reports that it has sold government lands to private estate developers.

The Inquisitor newspaper had reported that the House had veered into profit-making ventures contrary to the dictates of the 1992 Constitution.

But speaking exclusively to Class91.3FM’s parliamentary correspondent Ekow Annan on Friday, 13 July 2018, Acting Director of Parliament’s Public Affairs, Kate Addo said parliament has not sold any state assets to private developers.

According to her, parliament has entered into a public-private partnership (PPP) for the construction of a hotel, but there is “no way parliament will arbitrarily sell its properties”.

“Parliament is by no means trying to venture into any profitable venture. The institution of parliament is a non-profit entity and will remain like that till the end of time”.

She said parliament is restructuring its systems to ensure that properties “assigned to them will be put to best use”.

Ms Addo said she has been informed by Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu that: “The purported hotel is not what is going to happen”.

She said parliament has properties within its vicinity and one of the things it is seeking to do is to find a private developer “to develop the land and then operate it by himself”.

She explained that when “Members of Parliament or Parliament’s guests arrive, for instance those who are not in Accra, they will use that property for little or no cost”, emphasising that “parliament has not sold the land to the developer and intends to have a percentage interest should the intended plan materialise”.

She observed that the facility will be called the “Parliamentary Hotel and the purpose will be primarily to house parliamentarians and parliament’s guests but will not be owned by parliament or funded by parliament”.