Safety and Security of Speaker’s Official Residence Compromised –Parliament

Land grabs and state-sponsored sale of public properties near the official residence of the Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Rt Hon Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has compromised his safety and security, the Parliamentary Service of Ghana has said.

A statement issued and signed by the Director of Media Relations, David Sebastian Damoah, the parliamentary service revealed that all buildings adjacent to the Speaker’s residence have been sold to private developers, creating security risks.

This comes after the Speaker revealed at a Breakfast Forum that his residence was nearly sold to a private developer while he still resided there. Mr Bagbin added that the revelation surfaced when the developer attempted to register the land at the Lands Commission.

Contradicting the claims, the Lands Commission issued a statement insisting that the property was never sold to a private developer.

But in a sharp rebuttal, Parliament insisted on the sale of neighboring properties leaving the Speaker’s residence as an which has compromised his security.

“A visit to the official residence of Rt. Hon. Speaker will unveil that almost all the surrounding buildings and accompanying parcels of land have been sold out to private developers. High-rise apartments have been constructed all around, leaving the Speaker’s residence as an island and endangering the safety and security of the Rt. Hon. Speaker.”