Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, has praised President John Mahama for reversing the sale of state lands that were disposed of under the previous administration.
While acknowledging the decision, he called for a more transparent system to prevent political misuse of public assets.
Speaking on on JoyNews on Saturday, March 8, Bentil urged Mahama to go beyond reversing questionable land allocations by institutionalizing strict rules to eliminate discretionary allocation of state properties.
“I commend President Mahama. President Mahama has stopped one thing, but he can do more. In four years, he can publish rules under Article 296 to ensure that no Chief of Staff, no government official, may allocate state property to any private person under any circumstance except through a lawful process,” he stated.
He emphasized that public officials must adopt a stewardship mindset, rather than treating governance as an avenue for personal enrichment.
“People must go into government knowing they are stewards. A steward doesn’t enter office looking to loot as if they have just won a war,” he added.
Bentil criticized the practice of successive governments exploiting legal loopholes to allocate state resources to political allies and cronies, stressing that state assets—including lands, vehicles, and buildings—should only be disposed of through due process.
He referenced Article 296 of the Constitution, which mandates clear, published guidelines for discretionary decisions, and Article 257, which vests state lands in the President. He also cited the Public Procurement Act 663, which outlines lawful asset disposal procedures.
“When it comes to state vehicles, the Chief of Staff will write a letter granting what is more or less a waiver for a car to be sold to someone. That is not lawful. The Chief of Staff does not have that authority. The same goes for state lands,” he asserted.
Bentil insisted that state properties must be auctioned to the highest bidder to ensure maximum national benefit.