Former Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Inusah Fuseini, has described as false and malicious claims by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, John Peter Amewu that several government lands were illegally given out under the Mahama administration.
Mr John Peter Amewu has said the Mahama administration sold state lands like “kelewele”.
According to him, his ministry has “put a team together to investigate some allocations of the plots of land s that were done from 2013 to date”
“If you look at the period between 2013 to today, the number of government lands that were dashed out of this country, [they were] given out like ‘kelewele’, I mean like no man’s business,” he told Joy News in an interview on Tuesday, 7 November.
“…So we put a committee together to look into that; the committee is yet to present those reports…” Mr Amewu noted.
The sale of state lands and properties have always been under every regime has always been met with controversies.
The Rawlings’ administration was accused, under a divestiture programme, of selling state properties including the Nsawam cannery to the then first lady Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings.
Mr Amewu said that the government’s plans to automate the entire land administration system to bring down issues of corruption in the process.
But reacting to the issue, Mr. Inusah Fuseini also accused the NPP of selling lands to cronies during the Kufuor administration.
He said during his tenure, he rather brought sanity into the allocation of state lands by directing interested members to pass through the right procedures before lands are allocated to them.
He said some members of the NPP rather tried convincing him to sell state lands to them but he refused adding that Mr Amewu’s motive is only to vilify the NDC.
“The NPP during Kufour’s time rather sold lands like toffees and so I’m shocked to hear Amewu accusing us. During my tenure I had so many NPP members coming to me for state lands but I refused and rather directed them to the lands commission. I won’t mention names but I expect Amewu to add those names to his list.
He continued that “I introduced discipline during my tenure and I think the NPP only want to vilify NDC” he cried.
Mr. Inusah Fuseini who is also the Ranking Member on the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament, threatened to release a full list of NPP members who were also involved in illegal sale of lands.
