It has been claimed that a leading member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) wanted to sell a five-acre piece of land to the Bank of Ghana for a whopping 32 million dollars ($32, 000, 000.00).
The Bank of Ghana has come under attack from the NDC for dedicating $250 million dollars to the building of its new complex to be used as a head office. The NDC says that the project is too expensive and is even preparing to go on demonstration.
However, according to Kofi Tonto, a member of the Communications Team of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), a leading member of the opposition NDC wanted to sell land for the building at a price of $32 million.
This latest information is at odds with the current position adopted by the Minority NDC, which has expressed anger about the cost of the new headquarters, which they say is excessive and unnecessary.
They argue that the BoG could have renovated its existing headquarters for a fraction of the cost.
The BoG has defended the cost of the new headquarters, saying that it is necessary to ensure the safety and security of the bank’s operations. The bank says that a structural integrity assessment conducted on its current headquarters revealed that the building is no longer fit for purpose.
The decision to build a new headquarters was taken in the 1990s. In the 1990s, the Bank of Ghana began the search for adequate and secured land for a new Head Office, given that the Central Business District had caught up with the existing Head Office and the need to expand to meet its growing operations.
In the year 2011, the Board of Directors of the bank agreed that the Bank must consider looking for a suitable land for the new headquarters.
In 2012 the Bank was allocated a 5.19-acre land at Accra Central by the Lands Commission and a total of GHS 791,580.00 was paid. The Bank however was not given access to the land as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration refused to grant the Bank vacant possession on the grounds that they had never agreed to give up ownership of the land.
Several offers were made to the Bank between 2012 and 2016 including parcels of land near the Ridge Hospital, Airport City, around 37 Military Hospital, Achimota Forest among others. Due diligence made on these plots indicated that they were either encumbered, had unfavourable terms or that these lands were not suitable for the Bank’s purpose. Among the offers, it is believed, is the $32 million offer from the NDC Guru. At that time, the nation was governed by the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the same political party that is raising Cain over the cost of the construction.
Mr. Tonto, who was speaking on the program INSIDE PAGES on Metro TV, stated that the details of attempted sale are captured in a report compiled by the Bank of Ghana on the history of the acquisition of the new headquarters.
More shortly….
