The Heat Is Getting Hotter As The Land Minister Receives A Response From A Former Minister;Wild Details Dropped-CHECK.
The brouhaha and heat surrounding the famous Achimota forest lands, is getting bigger and hotter each passing day.
The Achimota forest, is a Protected nature area, in the Greater Accra Region. The forest became a topic and a trending news, following allegations, that some government officials, are looting portions of the Forest lands.
Things recently turned around following the claims, that the will of the Former CEO of Forestry Commission, the late Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, also known as Sir John, contains four parcels of specified and unspecified acres of lands, in the Achimota Forest, which he bequeathed to named persons.
Again, the Fourth Estate (a non-profit, public interest and accountability investigative firm), also revealed that, the late Sir John; did not declare his asset before and while in office as demanded by the Constitution of the land.
In the latest statement release, the current Minister of Land and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor has assured the public that, the government will be acting on all improper acquisition of lands, and that, all past and present wrong and acquisitions would be dealt with accordingly.
According the the Minister, “Government will act on any improper acquisition of any public lands regardless of how it was procured , whether now or in the past, and the Achimota Forest lands will not be an exception”.
He again stated that, “Preliminary inquiries reveal that the alleged will in question is a subject matter for litigation / Contestation in court”, and that, “Further checks at the Lands and Forestry Commission , the repositories of the records of the land in question show no record of ownership of lands at the Achimota Forest of Sarkumono Ramsar Site, by the late Kwadwo Owusus Afriyie”.
The comment by the Minister was responded to, by the Former Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Inusah Fusein, who stated that, Mr. Jinapor’s statement on Achimota Forest is full of incorrect assertions and misrepresentation of facts, skewed against his person, and also against his role as a Lands Minister between the period January 2013 to June 2014.
According to Alhaji Fuseini, “On 20th March 2013 the Family again petitioned the then President of the Republic HE John Dramani Mahama for the release of the portions of the land. On February 2014, the Forestry Commission and the Owoo Family Executed a Deed of Variation to the 2013 leases as a result of what was described as ‘an omission of the the root of title and and the actual size of the end land”.
In a statement release, Alhaji Fuseini further explained that, “By the said 2014 Deed of Variation the Forestry Commission granted one Owoo Family another fifty point zero nine acres, bringing the total acreage grated to the family to One Hundred and Ninety Eight point Fine Zero acres. By a letter dated 4th April 2014, the then Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon Alhaji Innusah Fuseini , MP wrote to the Lands Commission to amend its records to reflect the grants made to the Owoo Family”.
Honorable Inusah Fuseini, who was also the Former MP for Tamale Central, further stated that, “It is also important to state that the Achimota Forest reserve, which until recently stood at 495 hectares was facing serious encroachment. There was therefore the need to protect the Forest from further encroachment. It was the view of the NDC that the best way to protect the Forest was to turn same into an Ecoturism facility, as experience shows that the encroachment into the Forest is precisely because it has been lying fallow. The 2012 manifesto with which the NDC sought the mandate of the people of Ghana bears ample testimony to the avowed intention of the NDC to protect the Achimota Forest reserve, from further encroachment by turning it into an Eco Park“.
He said again that; “As said earlier, I assumed the mandate to steer the affairs of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources in February 2013, with a clear directive to take steps to convert the Forest into an Ecotourism facility. I set up a Strategic Committee headed by my able deputy Hon. Babara Serwa Asamoah, to look at the most prudent and feasible way we could implement this manifesto promise. I reviewed the various petitions from the Owoo Family and recommendations from Committees set up, to consider those petitions. Let me state categorically that apart from the Strategic Committee I set up to implement the NDC’s manifesto promise, all other committees on the Achimota Forest Reserve up until the time I assumed office pre-dated me”.
Source:Cornernews update
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