Charles Taylor & Cronies grab Accra houses

The Chronicle says reports indicate that at a time that Liberia has not been able to rent a property to house its Embassy, President Charles Taylor, estimated by THE TIMES of London to be worth $2.8 billion, like other leaders of the war-ravaged country, are amassing properties in Accra.

Taylor, whose family members live in Accra, is reported to have added a palatial residence housing his family members at McCarthy Hill, Accra, to his list of properties across the ECOWAS sub-region. Several of his ministers and ex-ministers have also snapped-up juicy properties in Ghana's capital, Chronicle gathered.

Ghana is the favourite address of Liberian leaders and refugees among countries in the West African sub-region and is home to an estimated 30,000 citizens who have fled the carnage at home. Information gathered from the Liberian sources in Accra as well as reports in The New Democrat, a Liberian newspaper last week revealed that several Liberian leaders are acquiring properties and business interests in Ghana. Interestingly, Liberia, which is under UN sanctions and ravaged by a new civil war that has generated fear of uncertainty in Monrovia, has not been able to house its Embassy since 1996 when it was ejected from its Switchback Road-Cantonments office over its inability to pay rent for years.