Elements like Sir John are the reason why I went to Supreme court to ban public officials from buying government lands – Ablakwa

Member of Parliament for North Tongu has said that people like Sir John are the reason why he was in the Supreme Court in 2008.

According to him, there is no way public officials should be given the opportunity to buy government lands.

To him, as a country that needs to be building affordable housing units for their citizens, it’s imperative that lands are kept for such purposes rather than selling them to public officials.

Read Also: Sir John wills part of Achimota Forest, Ramsar area at Sakumono to family members

His comment comes on the back of Sir John’s will which has been leaked on social media.

On page 4 of the will, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, whose office was situated at the Achimota Forest until his death, states:

“I give my land situate at the Achimota Forest in the name of Jakaypro Limited and measuring 5.541 acres to the following persons forever.

–Yaw Amoateng Afriyie                                  -One (1) acre

— Eva Akua Afriyie                                          One (1) acre

–Ivy Akua Afriyie                                            One (1) acre

–Elizabeth Asare Boateng (aka Mother)        One (1) acre

–Michael Owusu                                            1.541 acres

On page 5 of the will, it is stated: “I give my land also situate at the Achimota Forest in the name of Fasoh Limited and measuring 0.987acres to my nephews Michael Owusu, Yaw Boadu and Kwabena Amoateng forever.”

On the same page, the will states: “I jointly own a piece of land at Achimota Forest with Charles Owusu. Upon my demise, my portion of the said land should be given to Ruth Korkor Odonkor.”

That’s not all. On the same page 5 and still on the Achimota Forest, the will states: “I give my portion of land that jointly own at the Achimota Forest in the name of DML Limited to Elizabeth Asare Boateng who at the time of making this will is domiciled in the USA forever.”

Read His Statement Below:

When Dr. Edward Omane Boamah and I as activists and private citizens went to the Supreme Court in 2008 to stop the late Hon. Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey (may he rest in peace) from purchasing his official bungalow, we were driven by the principle that public officials are only trustees and must never put themselves in a conflict of interest situation by selling public properties under their care to themselves.

We took the view, respectfully, that if our predecessors were engaged in that kind of conduct, the current crop of leaders would have met nothing. Unfortunately, even though the Supreme Court commended Dr. Omane Boamah and I for our noble intentions and best efforts, they gave Hon. Obetsebi-Lamptey the green light to proceed with what we still consider an unethical acquisition.

14 years on, having been in and out of government, I still hold the firm conviction that public officials and their associates should not be permitted to buy and own state lands whether directly or indirectly.

It is time to outrightly ban the sale/lease or return to so-called original owners of state lands. It seems to have become the most abused concept in our governance history as few can muster the courage to challenge the fact that the practice has been tainted with self-dealing and cronyism.

The colonialists and immediate post independence political leaders acquired large tracts of land for development and appropriate spatial planning, however, the current generation of leaders appear to specialize not in adding to the stock of acquisition but on a mission of constant depletion.

How can a country that needs to build more affordable houses to address the acute millions of housing deficit; a country whose doctors, nurses, lecturers, civil servants, teachers, security personnel — who all cannot be efficient in the discharge of their duties because of terribly poor proximity to work; a country lacking adequate recreation centres, sporting facilities, industrial zones, transportation hubs, schools, hospitals, prisons, shelters for the vulnerable and abused, parks and green belts, and yet, we are busily selling or purportedly returning every available land bank acquired by our forebears.

Sadly, there is ample evidence to suggest that, when land is supposedly returned to allodial owners, some public officials at various levels who facilitate these opaque transactions to allodial owners eventually become beneficiaries.The time to safeguard the little we have left is NOW.

Source: MyNewsGh.com/ 2022

Adblock test (Why?)