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The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources says it will soon publish a list of public lands which have been leased out to individuals and private entities by the state since the coming into force of the 1992 constitution.
The decision to go public with the list apart from updating the public on the state of public lands is also to put to rest the perennial accusation and counter accusation of land grabbing by the political class.
Addressing journalists during the Minister’s Briefing organised by the Ministry of Information in Accra yesterday, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, said lifting of the veil was in the spirit of transparency and accountability.
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Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor (fifth from left) with other dignitaries after the meeting
“In the spirit of transparency, the President of the Republic, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has directed the compilation of a list of all public lands that have been transferred since the inception of the Fourth Republic on January 7, 1993,” he emphasized.
The Minister noted that in line with the President’s directive, a team of dedicated men and women at the Lands Commission were working to put together the list and the details would be made known in the next few months.
He said it was unfortunate that some politicians would make the issue of public lands a propaganda tool just for election purposes to whip negative sentiments against their opponents.
“I personally think public or government appointees should not go near State lands because of the possibility of conflict-of-interest situation, however, to deliberately churn out falsehood on the altar of elections was inappropriate,” he emphasised.
He stated that no public land had been leased to any government appointee of the current administration and challenged anyone with contrary information or evidence to make it public.
Mr Jinapor said all public lands were intact and safe and would protect them from further encroachment, adding that “We will continue to discharge these duties transparently, anchored on the highest standards of integrity, candour and utmost good faith, to ensure the protection and the judicious use of public lands, and the ultimate benefit of the people of Ghana, the true owners of the land.”
Touching on a number of lands purported to have been grabbed by members of the Akufo-Addo administration, the Minister said most of the lands were leased out by the Mahama-led government in 2015 and 2016 to private developers.
These lands he said included lands belonging to the Judicial Service, Parks and Gardens.
Mr Jinapor said the Du Bois Centre had not been leased out as put out, adding “In the press release of July 16, 2024, the Lands Commission, the manager of public lands and the repository of records of land transactions, has no pending application for the transfer of this land. The land, as we speak, remains in the name of the Du Bois Centre.”
“Indeed, the evidence shows that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia Government has been meticulous in protecting public lands in the public interest. On August 17, 2021, with the approval of the President of the Republic, a policy directive was issued to the Lands Commission, pursuant to article 258(2) of the national Constitution to “refer all transactions relating to the grant of any interest in public land to (the office of the Minister) for prior approval,” he concluded.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
