The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, has dismissed reports that his official residence at Cantonments in Accra was sold to a private developer.
During a meeting with civil society groups in Accra, Mr. Bagbin clarified that his residence was “almost sold” to a private developer, rather than sold as others had mistakenly reported.
“I didn’t say my residence was sold. That was not what I said. This was just a comment in passing when I said it was almost sold, but luckily, I was in possession. And I said it was when they went to Lands Commission that they realised from the search that it was the residence of the Speaker,” Alban Bagbin clarified.
The Speaker, in a statement signed by the Director, Media Relations Department, David Sebastian Damoah, on November 22, stated that the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Works and Housing, and the Lands Commission so far have not tackled the subject matter of the alleged sale.
It will be recalled that the Speaker of Parliament, speaking at the Speaker’s Breakfast Forum in Accra on Monday, revealed that his residence in Accra was almost sold to a private developer while he was still living there.
According to Mr. Bagbin, he only learned about the situation when the private developer went to the Lands Commission to register the land.
However, the Lands Commission, in a statement signed by the Acting Executive Secretary, Benjamin Arthur, on November 20, denied the allegations made by the Speaker.
“The Lands Commission has become aware of reports in a section of the media suggesting that the Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament’s official residence at Cantonments has been sold to a private developer”.
“The Commission wishes to state emphatically that at no point in time was the said property sold to a private developer by the Lands Commission”.
It also stressed that it was unaware of any purported sale of the Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament’s official residence.
“The Commission wishes to reiterate its commitment to the prudent and efficient management of public lands in the national interest and promote effective land administration that is anchored on the highest standards of integrity, transparency and candor,” the statement concluded.