*Mills Probes Forestry Commission Boss*

President Prof. John Evans Atta Mills has responded to a petition by a public-spirited individual Mr. John Kyeramanteng, by tasking Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Natural Resources to investigate the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Forestry Commission over an allegation of conflict of interest against him.

President Mills was asked by the petitioner to intervene, stop and recover allegedly looted state lands belonging to the Forestry Commission by its CEO Mr. Samuel Afari Dartey.

Mr. Kyeramanteng, who identified himself as a concerned citizen, claimed in his petition, a copy of which The Herald has intercepted, that Mr. Afari Dartey, has looted two state lands in the Western Region, through his company, Ocean Club Limited.

One of the alleged looted lands, the petitioner said, was priced at US$6 million dollars for the Ghana Ports and Habours Authority (GPHA) to purchase but was eventually sold for a paltry sum of US$1 million to the Forestry Commission boss, by the same Commission; a case of conflict of interest.

The land, according to Mr. Kyeremanteng, previously belonged to the Timber Marketing Board, and could be developed by the government for any purpose, given where it is situated, rather than being given away to an individual for his private use.

The land, measuring 3.9 acres, and located at the edge of the Takoradi Port in the Western Region, adjacent the Navy Depot, has been sold to Ocean Club Limited, owned by Mr. Dartey.

This allegation comes in the wake of reports available to The Herald that some officers of the National Security outfit are directing beneficiaries of the famous “stolen state lands” to go ahead and put them into their private use; a slap in the face of the government.

The petition which bears no date has been copied to the Chief of Staff, the Speaker of Parliament, Majority and Minority Leaders of Parliament, the National Security Coordinator, the Chairman of Council of State, Minister of Lands and Forestry as well as the Western Regional Minister, among others for action to be taken.

According to the petition, on August 10, 2001, some people at the Forestry Commission coerced the Lands Commission in Takoradi to rent the land in question to the Forestry Commission, allowing Mr. Dartey to finally sell it to his company in September 2009.

Mr. Kyeramanteng asked: “if the Forestry Commission had no use for the land then why did they twist hands to rent it from the Lands Commission? ….wondering if it was not a dubious attempt to create an alibi?”

According to him, initially, an advert was put up in the dailies for the sale of the land, to which The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) expressed an interest, but were denied.

“They GPHA were to pay six million dollars for it,” said Kyeramanteng in the petition, adding, “isn’t it ridiculous?” According to him the land was subsequently sold for a paltry one million dollars which has neither been deposited in the Consolidated Account nor paid in to the coffers of the Land Commission.

Mr. Dartey according to the petition, using his position as the acting CEO, in the absence of the substantive CEO, “cajoled various officers of the Commission, including even the legal officer, to condone the sale by appending their signatures” to the transaction.

Mr. Kyeramanteng, therefore, appealed to President Mills to investigate the acquisition of the lands by Ocean Club Limited, and recover it for the state for public interest purposes.

In a telephone conversation with The Herald, Mr. Dartey confirmed having had a land transaction with the Forestry Commission, but said the deal took place in the Kufuor regime four clear years before he was appointed CEO of the Commission by the Mills government.

He disclosed that although payment for the land took place at the time, ownership was not transferred to him by the Forestry Commission, hence he had to sign the documents upon his entry into office as the CEO of the Forestry Commission to formalize the change of ownership of the land.

Mr. Dartey noted that he took part in a competitive bidding process which saw advertisements published in three newspapers at the time, therefore the transactions was handle above board, and had nothing fishy about it.

He is insisted that there was no iota of truth in Mr. Kyeramanteng’s allegations, and disclosed that President Mills had directed the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Natural Resources to probe the case.

For this reason, he said, the Legal Directorate of the Forestry Commission is responding to queries on the deal from the Ministry for onward submission to the Castle.