The reported appointment of Professor Anthony Owusu Ansah as Executive Secretary of Ghana’s Lands Commission has ignited a political firestorm- and for good reason.
This isn’t merely a bureaucratic reshuffle. It is a defining moment for the National Democratic Congress (NDC); a test of its commitment to integrity, accountability, and the grassroots movement that fought to restore the party to power.
Professor Owusu Ansah’s ties to the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) are neither speculative nor distant.
At the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), where he spent years, he was widely known as a close ally of the current Rector, Professor Sammi Bonsu- an NPP loyalist who, notably, was granted a controversial two-year extension in December 2024 under the former NPP government.
Insiders at GIMPA recall a troubling era of political bias and academic suppression. Pro-NDC lecturers were marginalized.
TEIN (Tertiary Education Institutions Network) student activists were targeted.
Careers were derailed. Voices were silenced.
The environment became one where party affiliation could make or break one’s future.
But what has become of the sacred principle of vetting political appointees? Isn’t National Security or the BNI expected to scrutinize such appointments before public announcements are made? A single trip to GIMPA- or a handful of interviews with former students- would have laid bare a disturbing trail of unethical conduct. Reports of awarding unearned grades to favored students once led to him allegedly failing a vetting exercise.
Even more damning is his reputation among female students, who reportedly nicknamed him “the condom professor”- a crude but telling indication of the discomfort and suspicion that surrounded his presence on campus.
And now, this same individual is being handed control of Ghana’s state lands?
Appointing Professor Owusu Ansah to head the Lands Commission- a body already plagued by allegations of corruption and elite land grabbing- isn’t just a miscalculation. It’s a catastrophe in waiting. It’s like placing a cobra in charge of fresh eggs at a poultry farm; a guaranteed disaster wrapped in official stationery.
Even more unsettling is the reaction from the NPP. According to sources in Nima, some NPP insiders are privately celebrating the appointment. For them, it’s a quiet political victory; one of their own, rewarded by their main opponent.
For the NDC grassroots, it feels like a betrayal.
Professor Owusu Ansah’s move to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) did nothing to rehabilitate his image.
Former students recall his public outrage when NDC polling station executives pulled off a surprise campus victory. Others say he disparaged voters in Ayawaso West Wuogon as “shallow” for electing John Dumelo, the NDC’s candidate. These are not the actions of a politically neutral professional. They’re the hallmarks of someone whose loyalty lies elsewhere.
So, the critical question must be asked:
Does the NDC truly lack competent, ethical, and loyal individuals capable of leading such a critical agency?
The answer is a resounding no. The party is full of dedicated professionals who have served faithfully, often at great personal cost.
They deserve to be recognized and empowered- not overlooked in favor of someone whose record is stained with partisanship and alleged misconduct.
The NDC cannot afford to confuse reconciliation with capitulation. Political magnanimity should never come at the expense of principle, credibility, or the trust of the party’s base.
Revoking this appointment is not vindictive. It is corrective. It would send a clear message that loyalty matters, integrity matters, and governance must be built on trust- not political appeasement.
Anything less would signal to the rank and file that loyalty is optional and that those who once worked against the party’s interests now stand to benefit from its victories.
In this moment, the NDC must decide; Will it honor the sacrifices of its base, or will it court the quiet approval of its rivals?
Whispering from James Coffie
Dzowulu – Accra
