NDC outdoors $20m office building

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is on the verge of occupying its $20 million new building complex located at Adabraka, a suburb of Accra.

The party has branded the ultra-modern office complex with NDC colours and slogan. The logo of the party has been prominently displayed with inscriptions echoing the ‘Better Ghana Agenda,’ when DAILY GUIDE visited the area on Saturday.

The branding of the imposing twin building has put to rest the argument over the ownership of the over $20 million property.

The lull which followed the banter among a section of the media, the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the ruling party’s propaganda machinery appears to have now given way to a fresh public scrutiny over the wealth of the NDC.

A team of DAILY GUIDE scouts discovered that a lonely private security man was on sentry at the entrance of the structure.

A lunatic had also made himself comfortable under the building, but he would soon be evicted when the party head office becomes fully operational.

Ownership

When the issue about the ownership of the $20 million office building came up a little over two years ago, the initial response by the NDC was an outright and emphatic denial.

Deputy National Organiser of the party, Joshua Akamba, was among the first to deny the story when it generated controversy.

“The NDC has not acquired any new building, neither are we putting up any ultramodern office building,” were his exact rebuttal on Adom FM’s ‘Dwaso Nsem’ programme in December 2011.

NDC General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia aka General Mosquito, had earlier told delegates in Sunyani that the party was building an ultramodern headquarters in Accra which was nearing completion, even though he did not mention the exact location of the facility.

Discovery

However, latest investigations by DAILY GUIDE have uncovered that the gigantic six-storey twin-building standing in the nerve centre of the capital city, is indeed owned by the party.

Initially, the impression was created as though the building had been put out for lease or was being rented out for the highest bidder, but our checks have established that it is actually going to be used as the head office of the ruling NDC which has Dr. Kwabena Adjei aka Wayoo Wayoo and General Mosquito as chairman and general secretary respectively.

Issues

The building, which was constructed by a Chinese company, prompted questions from individuals and groups following speculations that it was owned by the NDC, ahead of the 2012 elections.

It was subsequently put out for lease when leasing notices were posted at the gates apparently because of the controversy surrounding it.

Though it was not clear for how much the plush edifice was being let out, an Accra-based legal practitioner and brother-in-law of the Ahwoi brothers, Kwaku Bram-Larbi, who is also a member of the NDC and is in charge of the property, had earlier confirmed to DAILY GUIDE that the facility was being offered for lease at a price of $32 per square meter per month.

Mr. Bram-Larbi was a member of the Sub-Committee on Legal Affairs of the NDC Transitional Team in 2009 when President Mills was elected.

Twists And Turns

Mr. Bram-Larbi (BL) confirmed the cost of the edifice during an interview with DAILY GUIDE (DG) when the paper broke the news which is reproduced below: DG: Good afternoon Sir, I’m Charles Takyi-Boadu of the DAILY GUIDE newspaper. How are you doing?

BL: I’m alive.

DG: Chief, we understand you are the lead lawyer in charge of this building at Adabraka which is being offered for lease.

BL: Yes, does the DAILY GUIDE want it?

DG: Well, we just have an interest in it. Chief, does that building really belong to the NDC?

BL: I don’t represent the NDC; my clients are not NDC. I thought this thing came up a long time ago. Those of you who cared did the searches…Papa. I don’t represent the NDC; the property does not belong to NDC. If you are interested, you can write a formal…notify us of your interest and then we can start talking.

Belief

It is however, believed that a whopping $20 million was expended on the entire project as revealed by pro-democracy pressure group, Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG).

What baffled most individuals and groups, especially AFAG, which raised issues of impropriety was how a political party, which was then only three years in office and on the verge of being thrown out of its Kokomlemle headquarters due to unpaid rent arrears, could suddenly put up such a plush building in an area like Adabraka.