Former Lands and Natural Resources Minister and Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel A. Jinapor, has taken issue with comments by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, over the commissioning of Ghana’s new chancery in Addis Ababa.
In a Facebook post titled Setting the “Records Straight on Ghana’s Addis Ababa Chancery,” Samuel Jinapor described claims that credit the project solely to the current administration as “erroneous” and “an egregious misrepresentation of facts.”
“The commissioning of Ghana’s new Chancery in Addis Ababa is undoubtedly a moment of national significance. However… attribut[ing] the Project to the current administration is erroneous,” he stated.
According to Jinapor, construction of the chancery began in February 2020 under the previous government, following a sod-cutting ceremony led by former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
“Construction of the Addis Ababa Chancery commenced with a sod cutting ceremony by President Akufo-Addo on 10 February 2020 on the sidelines of the AU Summit,” he wrote.
He said the ceremony was held during the African Union Summit and witnessed by the then Ethiopian President, Sahle-Work Zewde, and senior officials from Ethiopia and Ghana.
Mr Jinapor added that he was personally present at the ceremony.
He recalled that during the event, President Akufo-Addo expressed concern about Ghana’s lack of a permanent chancery in Addis Ababa despite long-standing ties between the two countries.
“President Akufo-Addo lamented that Ghana did not have its own chancery building… considering the close relations between the two countries and our former leaders, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and Emperor Haile Selassie,” he said.
Mr Jinapor dismissed claims that the project dates back to 2016, describing them as inaccurate.
“The suggestion that the Project has a ten-year history from 2016 is… misleading and inaccurate,” he noted.
He explained that construction began in February 2020 and was about 90 per cent complete by October 2024.
Addressing reports of delays, the former minister attributed setbacks to financial constraints during the 2024 general elections.
“There was… a delay in the final payment of the contract sum due to the 2024 General Elections,” he stated, adding that it was “inaccurate that the Project had delayed for two years.”
He argued that any interruption in progress should be blamed on the current administration, as the project was already near completion by late 2024.
Mr Jinapor stressed that the chancery project should be viewed as a national effort rather than a partisan achievement.
“This is a national Project commenced by the previous Government and completed by the current Government,” he said.
He added that acknowledging continuity in governance reflects “maturity in democratic practice,” but warned against rewriting history.
“It is… disingenuous to discount the work of the Akufo-Addo Government and characterize the Project as a Mahama Project, when the current administration only completed 10% of the Project,” he wrote.
Mr Jinapor urged the Foreign Affairs Minister to acknowledge what he described as established facts surrounding the project.
“The Hon. Minister for Foreign Affairs… should have no difficulty availing himself of these unimpeachable facts or acknowledging them,” he noted.
Source: metrotvonline.com
