A voice recording alluding to the ownership of the controversial $20 million headquarters building of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has tightened the noose around the necks of party officials who have mostly denied the existence of the project.
The list of visitors to the project is also another kettle of fish, with leading members spotted at the location denying being there at all.
A top NDC personality was spotted there on Saturday around 12.45pm in his Land Cruiser V8 with registration number GS 1425 Z, parked in front of the site.
It is unknown why he did not alight to embark on a better tour of the site, preferring to monitor the progress of work rather from the comfort of his Land Cruiser.
In spite of feigning ignorance about the project by top personalities of the party, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, General Secretary, Dr Kwabena Adjei, Party Chairman and Ato Ahwoi have been identified by residents close to the site as regular visitors, as they turn up to monitor progress of work, using the elevator to get to the summit of the 6-storey structure.
Hon. Alban Bagbin, Water Resources, Works and Housing Minister, who was also mentioned as one of the regular visitors, has denied being on the visitors’ list, explaining that he only heard about the project from Ato Ahwoi when he visited the latter at his Labone office.
Fresh details about the secret project indicate that it is replacing an old structure which was demolished earlier.
Twum-Boafo and Associates is said to have brokered the deal for the acquisition of the land for the project. It has also been learnt that Steve Akuffo, a well-known architect, is serving as consultant and visits the site every week.
The undeniable voice of the General Secretary of the party, Asiedu Nketia, aka General Mosquito, has put paid to the running controversy between the pressure group, Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) which smells malfeasance in the project, on one hand, and top NDC personalities who would rather the subject is kept under the lid.
With the voice allusion played on some networks last week, the controversy is surely moving to another level, as fresh questions pop up regarding the foreign funding of an NDC school at Oyibi, near Valley View University, Accra.
With the ruling party yet to admit ownership of the project, the voice recording of the party scribe when he spoke to supporters in Sunyani provides another premise for AFAG and opposition elements to nail the NDC for opaqueness.
He said, “Fellow Akatamansonians, ladies and gentlemen, among the many new initiatives we alluded to in Tamale was the headquarters building. We have told you for a long time that the party was subjected to a barrage of incessant demands from our landlord. We had also told you that given an opportunity the party would want to acquire its own headquarters building. I am happy to announce to you that the party has acquired its own land and is putting up an ultramodern national party headquarters. Work is at an advanced stage and it is our expectation that the office would be ready for occupation by the middle of next year (2012).”
The ruling party is being asked to explain the nature of assistance it is receiving from foreign sources as alluded to by Aseidu Nketia in the following statement, also delivered in Sunyani. “The party has acquired 20 acres of land at Oyibi, opposite the Valley View University for the construction of the initial structures of a party school with transit quarters. We have completed the design of the curriculum with the support of our sister parties like the SPD of Germany, the Labour Party of the UK and the Communist Party of China. Learning materials have been procured and the first training session will hopefully start by the end of this year (2011).”
Now a cynosure at the Adabraka suburb of Accra, people passing by the site spare moments to catch a glimpse of what arguably is one of the fastest developing projects in town on the verge of adding to the Accra skyline opposite Trust Bank, near Total Filling Station on the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue.
Having attracted the attention of passersby and occupants of nearby residential buildings by the sheer speed with which the project is being executed, not forgetting the mongoloid features of the Chinese expatriates working on it, the frequency of the visits of the aforementioned personalities enabled curious observers to make their inferences.
When he appeared on Oman FM’s ‘Boiling Point’ programme last Thursday, Ernest Owusu Bempah, Director of Operations of FONKAR, admitted that the project belongs to the NDC. He added that although there is nothing wrong with a political party undertaking a building project, the circumstances underpinning the party headquarters building are anything but decent. He said there are some names behind the project, persons who, when the party is no longer in power in future, could easily lay claims to it given the documentation covering it.
The underground segment of the project is said to be an architectural wonderment, a showpiece of complexities as the Chinese contractors work extra hours so they can deliver the party headquarters by the middle of next year as announced by Mr. Asiedu Nketia.
Another query about the project is that with the party executives saying they do not know anything about it, where is the funding for its execution emanating from, especially given the quantum of money involved. Although fundraising activities have been held by the party in recent times, proceeds from the activities are not enough to foot the whopping cost of the project.
This was one of the many defences put up by party officials who jumped into the fray. Shrouded in secrecy, there is no doubt that some of the executives do not know about the project as evidenced from their reference to the Oyibi land.
When AFAG issued a statement about the project recently, they pointed at the speed with which it is being executed, coupled with the cost, and concluding therefore that the arising morality questions need to be answered to clear the doubts in the minds of Ghanaians.
Soon after the story about the pressure group’s reaction hit the newsstands, a number of NDC national executives made interventions which raised more questions than answers.
By A.R. Gomda
