Tema Development Company (TDC) Limited has alleged that a former staff member of the company, who also served as the Tema Central Constituency Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), illegally sold a public plot of land in Tema Community 5 to his wife for GHS 2,000.

During a press briefing held in Accra, Thursday, September 4, the Managing Director of TDC, Courage Makafui Nunekpeku, revealed that the former staff member in question served as a protocol officer to a former TDC Managing Director.

However, he disclosed that, he has reclaimed the land which was originally earmarked for the construction of a public toilet for the constituents after a successful intervention.

“The NPP Tema Central Constituency Secretary sold that place to the wife at the cost of GHS 2,000. The documents are with me; I can make them available. When I went into the matter, I said no way; I engaged the woman, and I terminated the contract. I am not grabbing any land; I am just doing the right thing for the Ghanaian. I terminated that contract, and now the place is for the state to be used as a public toilet,” he announced.

He firmly stated that this reclaiming of state property is not land grabbing, as some media houses may report it, but a step in the right direction.

“The likes of the crusading guys captured it as though I was grabbing land. I am not grabbing any land. I am just doing the right thing. For the past 10 years, I have terminated that contract. It’s not for me. So, I am not grabbing any land in this case”.

In light of this, he educated the public that, when a land allocation is made for someone, whether through a license, a deed, or direct allocation, it doesn’t mean the person automatically owns it forever or that the arrangement can never be changed.

“...whether through a license, a deed, or direct allocation, it doesn’t mean the person automatically owns it forever or that the arrangement can never be changed”, he noted.

The pre-briefing held by the TDC was aimed at addressing and exposing illegal land transactions and affirming their commitment to cracking down on such actions. The briefing forms part of TDC’s broader campaign to recover illegally acquired lands and redirect them toward public infrastructure and housing development.

This comes at a time when President John Dramani Mahama has lifted the ban on transactions on state land. The ban was announced in an official statement dated January 10 and addressed to the Executive Secretary of the Lands Commission, citing the need to protect public lands for the benefit of current and future generations.

Eight months on, President Mahama, on Tuesday, September 2, announced that he had lifted it with immediate effect. He made this announcement during his speech at the inauguration of the newly constituted Board of the Lands Commission on Tuesday, September 2, highlighting that the pause exposed major shortcomings in the country’s land transactions, which called for a reset.

“In pursuit of this reform agenda, my government placed a temporary ban on all state land transactions to enable a thorough review of existing processes. That exercise has yielded valuable insights into the weaknesses of our current system and the urgent reforms that are required.

“So today, with the integration of the new commission and the adoption of robust accountability measures, I'm pleased to announce that the ban on land transactions has been lifted,” President Mahama explained.

TDC’s revelation about the former staff member, his connections to the corridors of power, and the events surrounding his sale of state land to his wife, affirms President Mahama’s remarks pointing to influential people and politicians as the culprits behind the country’s broken and decaying land administration system.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the unrestrained dissipation of state lands is not the work of the ordinary Ghanaian citizen. It is spearheaded by influential individuals who wield public office not as a trust but as a personal entitlement.

“ Prime government lands, ecological buffer zones, school land reserves, forest enclaves, Ramsar sites, and even lagoons have been appropriated by individuals who had been given the responsibility of protecting them. This must end with this commission.

“Over the years, these actions by corrupt individuals have consistently led to Ghana’s land administration system being flagged as one of the most corrupt, making it one of the institutions most in need of urgent reform”, he lamented.

He continued, “Indeed, no area of our national life is in greater need of a reset than our land administration system. Our ancestors taught us that land is sacred. However, successive years of mismanagement, compounded by political interference and institutional decay, have left our land governance system broken and vulnerable.

“ Independent anti-corruption surveys have consistently ranked the Lands Commission amongst the most distrusted institutions in our country. Public lands made for the benefit of all Ghanaians have been illegally sold, rezoned, or encroached upon with little accountability or consequences,” he fumed.

Meanwhile, following the president’s announcement on the ban on state land transactions, the Minority caucus in Parliament demanded the immediate reversal. Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, July 15, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Subin, Kofi Obiri Yeboah, admitted the President’s intention to safeguard public lands.

However, he expressed concerns about the potential of the directive to halt economic activity and disrupt the works of legitimate land owners.

“Although the President’s decision may aim at safeguarding public lands, these directives may also affect individuals and corporate entities who may have legitimately acquired interests in these lands,” the MP said.

They further argued that if the government genuinely believes the private sector is the engine of growth, then such a ban undermines its own economic principles.

Consequently, the MP admonished the government to “...as a matter of urgency, should lift the ban”.

The MPs also expressed concern about potential revenue losses to the state, noting that the Lands Commission generates significant income through stamp duties, consent fees, and lease preparations, all of which contribute to the Consolidated Fund.