MP for Akim Swedru, Kennedy Osei Nyarko
In a recent exposé, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu and Chairman of the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) committee, revealed that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Akim Swedru, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, acquired prime public land in Cantonments, Accra, under highly controversial terms.
According to Ablakwa’s report, Kennedy Osei Nyarko purchased the land in question for a mere GH¢42,000 (approximately US$2,800) in 2021, with authorization from then-President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
This transaction granted the MP a 99-year lease on the property, from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2120, with an annual ground rent of GH¢10,500 for the first four years.
“Unimpeachable and irrefutable Lands Commission documents reveal that President Akufo-Addo authorized this outrageously unconscionable transaction in 2021. The NPP MP who benefited from this condemnable rip-off is Hon. Kennedy Osei Nyarko, MP for Akim Swedru. From the Lands Commission’s records, Hon. Kennedy Osei Nyarko now owns the prestigious land in question for 99 years (from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2120),” he wrote.
According to Mr. Ablakwa, this deal is unconscionable due to the significant discrepancy between the price paid by the MP and the prevailing market rates at the time, which would have valued the land at between US$700,000 and US$800,000.
This raises questions about the fairness and transparency of the allocation of public assets, especially when compared to the conditions under which other Ghanaians might secure similar property.
The land in question, according to the North Tongu MP, was originally designated for agricultural mechanization, a sector in which Mr. Osei Nyarko himself had served as Deputy Minister.
Ablakwa argues that, instead of safeguarding this land for its intended public use, Nyarko allegedly colluded to repurpose it for private gain, an action that did not receive parliamentary approval as required by law.
“The irony is that this is the Cantonments Agricultural Mechanization land that Hon. Kennedy Osei Nyarko should have been keen on protecting as a former Deputy Agric Minister. He should not have actively colluded with elements in the former administration to illegally rezone the land without parliamentary approval, forcefully evict staff from the Agricultural Mechanization Department, and members of the Vegetable Producers and Exporters Association, just because he and a few politically exposed persons coveted the land,” he stated.
Mr. Ablakwa asserts that the acquisition by the Akim Swedru MP exemplifies a broader issue of state capture and the misuse of public lands under the previous administration.
“Article 257 of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution is clear: public lands belong to all Ghanaians. President Akufo-Addo was merely a caretaker on our behalf. This is certainly not the kind of trusteeship we expected. The GH¢42,000 Cantonments land deal highlights the grave injustice and deep rot associated with how public lands and other state assets were looted under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration,” Mr. Ablakwa wrote.
Ablakwa called for support of the ORAL initiative, which aims to recover assets allegedly looted from the state.
The North Tongu MP is also advocating for the passage of his private member’s bill, which would ban politicians and politically exposed persons from purchasing state assets, and mandate parliamentary oversight and public transparency for any such transactions.
“What is not right is certainly not right. I know there are many patriotic NPP members who will not support such naked injustice. Those who have not looted from the Ghanaian people do not attack ORAL — indeed, they boldly support ORAL, as the Constitution demands of all good citizens. The current generation of politicians must reflect and acknowledge that if those who came before us engaged in such despicable, unpatriotic conduct, no state asset would have been left for us. At this rate, what state assets are we leaving behind for the youth and for subsequent generations? How can we develop our country if all strategic state assets are looted by a few?” he questioned.
“I wholeheartedly agree with Prof. Kwaku Azar that ORAL must go with OPAL (Operation Prevent All Loot) — this is why I am vigorously pursuing my private member’s bill, which seeks to ban politicians and politically exposed persons from purchasing state assets. My bill also makes it mandatory for all transactions involving state assets to receive parliamentary approval. The Ghanaian people must first be convinced that there is even justification for selling that state asset. It is also in the bill that the transactions must go through value-for-money audits, and the amounts involved and beneficiaries must be published for the Ghanaian people to know,” he added.
GA/MA
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