The Member of Parliament for Damongo and Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has challenged assertions that Ghana’s newly inaugurated Chancery in Addis Ababa is exclusively the accomplishment of the current government.
In a Facebook statement titled “Setting the Records Straight on Ghana’s Addis Ababa Chancery,” Mr Jinapor described remarks made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, during the commissioning ceremony as inaccurate and a serious distortion of the facts.
The Chancery, situated in Addis Ababa, was recently commissioned to widespread praise for enhancing Ghana’s diplomatic footprint in Ethiopia.
However, Mr Jinapor maintained that the project was initiated under the administration of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
He explained that the sod-cutting ceremony was conducted by President Akufo-Addo on 10 February 2020, on the margins of the African Union Summit.
According to him, the ceremony was attended by then Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde, along with senior government representatives from both Ghana and Ethiopia.
Mr Jinapor, who said he was present at the event, recalled that President Akufo-Addo expressed concern at the time over Ghana’s inability to own a chancery building in Addis Ababa, especially considering the historic ties between the two nations dating back to the period of Kwame Nkrumah and Haile Selassie.
He dismissed claims that the project dates back 10 years to 2016, describing such assertions as misleading.
Construction, he stated, began in February 2020 shortly after the sod-cutting and had progressed to approximately 90 percent completion by October 2024.
Mr Jinapor added that the only setback encountered was linked to the final payment of the contract during the 2024 general election period.
He argued that any delay beyond that stage could not be blamed on the previous administration.
“This is a national project commenced by the previous Government and completed by the current Government,” he said, noting that recognising continuity in governance should not be interpreted as partisan.
He further described it as misleading to label the chancery a “Mahama project,” insisting that the present administration merely completed the remaining 10 percent of the work.
Mr Jinapor called on the Foreign Affairs Minister, in his capacity as the country’s chief diplomat, to recognise what he described as incontrovertible facts regarding the project’s inception and implementation.
