*By Larry-Alans Dogbey*

The twist and turns characterizing the wanton plunder of state lands by high-ranking members of the previous regime, including ex-President Kufuor himself, his immediate family and cronies, is still raging, with Professor Kofi Awoonor and Peter Nanfuri shredding an NPP list of NDC appointees who they claim to have also stolen state lands for their private use.

“It is a desperate attempt by drowning men to catch a straw. They are widening their dragnet in search of imaginary thieves to justify their action,” said Prof. Awoonor, who chairs the Council of State, last Saturday, amid laughter in his private residence at North Legon –Accra.

“They should take me to the land; anyone who says he knows where that land is should take me there immediately. I want to see it now,” demanded a stern-looking ex-Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Nanfuri, now Paramount Chief of Jirapa Traditional Area and also a Member of the Council of State.

The two personalities were separately reacting to claims by some high-profile NPP members using Freddie Blay’s Daily Guide and Egbert Faibille’s Ghanaian Observer Newspapers, that they and others also misappropriated huge tracts of state lands during the Rawlings’ administration. What is interesting is that Blay and Egbert also are beneficiaries of the land.

While Prof. Awoonor insisted that he got his land during the Limann administration by lawful means, Mr. Nanfuri, an ex-Director of BNI, maintains that he acquired the land from the Agbogba chiefs from La, in PNDC era, through the assistance of an officer of the Lands Commission whose name he faintly recall only as Mr. Kilba.

The two who served in various capacities in the Rawlings’ regime, insist their plots located between Madina and the University of Ghana, were not part of the In-filling or the Re-development Scheme of the late 1990s’ as the exercises were restricted to Cantonment, North Ridge, Roman Ridge, Kanda and Airport Residential areas, all in Accra.

Prof. Awoonor revealed to The Herald that the North Legon land belonged to La Stool, and it was acquired for residential purposes, but was eventually returned to the owners following persistent agitations from the chiefs and people of Agbogba, direct descendants of the La Stool.

Prior to releasing the lands, Prof. George Benneh, who was minister responsible for lands in the Limann Administration, through the Lands Commission, sold the plot to him, “and I started building immediately, even when I was with the UN, I was building this house,” pointing to the structure which appears to have been made from red bricks, the compound of the house has all kinds of fruits in it.

On his part, Mr. Nanfuri disclosed that he had the land around 1985, from the chiefs and elders of Agbogba through the assistance of Land Commission and Mr. Kilba, reached the Chiefs of Agbogba and negotiated on his behalf.

The two mentioned Akwesi Ahwoi, Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, Prof. Henrietta Mensah Bonsu,Jean Ackaah, Togbi Anipati, Colonel Osei-Wusu, Colonel Charles Grant, Justice Amono Monney, Air Vice Marshall Mamfi, amongst others, as their neighbours in North Legon.

The In-filling and Re-development Schemes were designed in the late 1990s to dispose of huge tracts of government land on which stood a single bungalow.

The process of acquisition was to be through competitive bidding, with proceeds from the sale, to be used to construct additional bungalows and office complexes for public and civil servants.

However, beginning 2002, during the Kufuor era, there was no competitive bidding. The state lands were sold arbitrarily to party loyalists. In like manner, the official bungalows in which there were sitting public servants were sold to party functionaries, leading to the current shortage of houses for state officials.

The Minister of Housing, Alban Bagbin, has disclosed that over 300 houses have gone to NPP bigwigs.

Meanwhile, a member of the opposition NPP MP for Manhyia, Mathew Opoku Prempeh, who also benefited from the looted state lands in Denyame-Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, has alleged that President Mills, Attorney General Betty Mould Iddrisu, IGP Paul Tawiah Quaye, ex-President Rawlings and other members of the ruling NDC government, have all illegally acquired state lands.

Speaking on Citi FM’s Saturday talk show, ‘The Big Issue, ‘over the weekend, Dr. Prempeh described the decision by the ruling NDC government to retrieve ‘stolen’ state lands acquired by members of the erstwhile Kufour administration as politics of “vindictiveness, jealousy and small-mindedness”.

The National Security Co-ordinator, Lieutenant Colonel Larry Gbevlo-Lartey (Rtd), has announced his readiness to ensure that all state properties are properly safeguarded in the supreme interest of the people of Ghana. The Security capo has, in this regard, vowed that all state lands which are in private hands without legal basis and authorization, would be retrieved, and put into proper use for the benefit of the whole nation.

However, Dr. Prempeh, in response, said that members of the opposition NPP who acquired state lands under the Kufour administration, did so through legal means.

He alleged that he has evidence to prove that several bigwigs of the ruling NDC, including ex-President Rawlings and President John Mills have also acquired state lands illegally.

“All this, I will claim with all certainty, are politics of vindictiveness, politics of envy, politics of hatred, politics of jealousy, politics of small-mindedness…when we say those who have taken state property, do you know how many state properties were sold to NDC cronies, 378…go to North Legon, Betty Mould Iddrisu and Co. they have government lands that were given to them, go to Adjiringano Prof Twumasi, Seth Kwao, they all have lands there, His Excellency Jerry John Rawlings has a house at Adjiringano, it was a government land he didn’t buy it from any Chief”, he said.

“When this government came into power one of the largest (tract) of land was given to Togbe Afede, opposite the Beach road, near the Castle, to develop the World Trade Centre, whether it was sold or allocated that place is a government land.

He took the investors to see President Mills, why? They claim they are building a better Ghana; that is why President Mills has a land at TDC in Tema, I can take you there.

He recently went to weed the place because it had overgrown. The current IGP, I hear, is building at Shiashie. Maybe it is not true, but I will verify,” he said.

He also alleged that the current Chairman of the Lands Commission in-charge of Greater Accra, Nii Oko Dzane and other Supreme Court judges, have been given state lands for personal use.

“The current chairman of the Lands Commission… he owns NDK Financial Services, and the land that his office is on, go and ask where he got it from. This hypocrisy is not good for governance.

They talk about the Chief Justice, she has worked as civil servant for 30 years… the impunity, listen, every Supreme Court judge has got a government land, they were given a government plot of land, I don’t know about the last three Judges who were just confirmed… let them come and tell us they didn’t give them”.

According to Mr. Opoku Prempeh, it is the policy of the ruling government to use government lands to entice investors into the country.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Lands Commission, Nii Oko Dzane, has dismissed the allegation by the Manhyia MP.

Nii Oko Dzane, who phoned into the discussion, said his company was built on a family land acquired somewhere in 1993.

He stated categorically that none of the lands on which NDK Financial offices have been built belongs to government.

“The NDK office land doesn’t belong to government; this is a family land that we bought many years ago which we have developed.

We bought it from the Dowuona family long ago in 1993 thereabouts”.