The Minister-designate for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is under enormous pressure to explain his lavish lifestyle and acquisition of wealth as he claims to abhor obscene profligacy and looting by politicians.
The North Tongu Member of Parliament (MP), a self-styled citizen-vigilante, who has been going after individuals’ properties, virtually branding everyone a thief, and defaming people for owning assets in the country, struggled to defend his extravagant way of life when he was subjected to scrutiny by the Ranking Member on the Parliament’s Appointments Committee, Mr. Alexander Afenyo-Markin.
Appearing before the committee for vetting last week, Mr. Ablakwa could not explain how he could afford the kind of luxurious lifestyle he enjoys and owning a collection of houses in Accra and his constituency despite never working in any private capacity with a well-paid job outside politics.
Chairman’s intervention
The Foreign Affairs Minister nominee was visibly shaken and struggled to respond to inquiries from Mr. Afenyo-Markin about how he funded his luxurious Airport Hills residence and his first and business-class flights.
This compelled the chairman of the committee, Bernard Ahiafor, to come to his rescue, claiming the ministerial nominee was not under any obligation to tell Ghanaians how he acquired his properties.
The North Tongu legislature, who also recently led raids on people’s properties in the name of the controversial ‘Operation Recover All Loot’ (ORAL) initiative, alleged that such assets were acquired through the looting of state resources, claimed that he rented his plush Airport Hills mansion for the past eight years.
Testing Ablakwa’s much advocated frugality for politicians, the nominee was asked how he was paying the rent, the chairman of the committee quickly interjected and overruled the question, allowing him to evade scrutiny.
Also questioned about the mansion, given that all Airport lands are state-owned that were released to private developers, and how someone appointed to chair a committee responsible for recovering looted state lands could himself be living on such lands, the chairman again intervened to overrule the question.
However, Mr. Ablakwa admitted to living in the dollar-priced and highly affluent Airport Hills, raising questions about how a person whose entire career has been in politics could afford such luxury while claiming to protect state resources.
This was because he could not provide details of any meaningful private or public-sector employment he had engaged in before entering politics.
Again, despite labelling others corrupt for flying business class, he could not commit to flying economy when travelling abroad.
Mr. Ablakwa rather claimed he will reduce the number of officials travelling on state duties so that this will not affect his extravagant lifestyle of enjoying first-class travel.
This stance contradicts his previous calls on President Nana Akufo-Addo and members of the previous administration to emulate Tanzania’s late President John Magufuli’s lifestyle of traveling economy.
Insincerity on MPs’ car loans
On the arrangement for Members of Parliament (MPs) to secure vehicles through government guaranteed car loan programme, Mr. Ablakwa, who has been at the forefront of opposing the initiative, was found to have personally benefited from it since entering Parliament.
It was revealed that the ministerial nominee took the car loan three consecutive times in 2013, 2017 and 2021.
Strangely in 2021, the North Tongu MP filed a private members’ motion urging Parliament to reject a $28 million loan intended to finance the purchase of vehicles for legislators.
He called on his colleague MPs to oppose the practice of government-facilitated loans for MPs, arguing that they should instead secure private loans like any other citizen.
However, during his vetting, it emerged that in the same year, he took out the loan to purchase two luxury saloon cars, equivalent in price to a modern V8 Land Cruiser.
Earlier, in 2009, when he was a Deputy Minister and had access to state-financed vehicles, he still took the loan to buy a luxurious V8 Land Cruiser.
During his third term, he used the funds to purchase a combine harvester for his private business in his constituency, further exposing his hypocrisy and contradictions.
Mr. Ablakwa also claimed during the vetting that he had incorporated a company in 2008 but stopped operating the defunct business when the NDC won the election that year to avoid a possible conflict of interest.
Ironically, now that the NDC is back in power and he has been nominated as Minister for Foreign Affairs, he told the committee that he had just incorporated a new company, in which he is the sole shareholder and beneficial owner, raising questions about his credibility and ability to adhere to his own stated principles.
