Akufo-Addo has been busy selling public lands; claim of them being intact deceptive — Ablakwa

Accusations continue to be levelled against President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that he has been secretly selling off public lands, contrary to assurances that these lands remain protected.

Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, claims to have obtained documents from the Lands Commission showing several land sales authorised by the President over the last few years.

In a social media post on Friday, August 16, Mr Ablakwa wrote: "Fresh intercepted documents from the Lands Commission confirm that contrary to Minister Abu Jinapor’s assurances two days ago, President Akufo-Addo has been extremely busy selling public lands."

The documents reportedly show portions of land in North La being sold to private companies in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

This includes sales to Masik Business Consult in September 2019, Fulmen Limited in June 2020 and Amantra Limited in October 2020, according to Mr Ablakwa.

He questioned how transparent these sale processes were, saying "One also wonders why these sales are done in utmost secrecy and thick darkness without any form of transparency and approval from the people who are the real owners of these state lands."

The lands are said to have originally been acquired from the La Stool by the government in 1943.

Meanwhile, at a press briefing at the Ministry of Information in Accra on Wednesday, Samuel Abu Jinapor, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources assured that "public lands vested under their care on the people’s behalf are ‘safe, intact and secure’".