The Parliamentary Service says most of the official properties assigned to Parliament at Cantonments have been sold to private developers.

In a press release signed by the Director of the Media Relations Department, David Sabastian Damoah, the Service said in 2019, the official residence of a sitting Clerk of Parliament was sold to realtors.

The November 22 release clarified that the current residence of the Speaker was about to suffer a similar fate.

The Service explained that it was when the private developer conducted due diligence at the Lands Commission, that Mr. Alban Bagbin got to know about the incident.

“A trip down memory lane reveals that sometime in 2019, the official accommodation of a sitting Clerk to Parliament located in Cantonments, was sold to a private developer. Other properties assigned to parliament have suffered a similar fate,” portions of the release read.

The Director explained that these private developers have redeveloped the lands at Cantonments by constructing high-rise buildings and apartments which have left the Speaker's residence exposed.

“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,” the release added.

Finally, the release expressed appreciation to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources for the decision to investigate the attempts made to sell the government estate to private developers.

The release added that transparency on this matter was of utmost importance "for the sake of public confidence in state institutions."