The Minister for Land and Natural Resources, Hon. Samuel Abu Jinapor, assured the general public that Ghana’s Public lands are safe. He made this call when he was addressing the press at a briefing on Wednesday, 14th August 2024, in Accra. The Minister further denied allegations that the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia Government administration is selling state lands to private individuals which they term as “State capture”.
Referring to some of the allegations, Mr. Jinapor recalled issues regarding the land leased to the Bulgarian embassy. He stated that the land was acquired by the state and was leased to one Theophilus Kofi Leighton in 1977 for a term of 99years starting from 1st April 1974 and is expected to expire in the year 2073. Mr. Leighton then leased part of the land to the Bulgarian Embassy for a period of 50 years. And on 5th November 1990, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared the lease void which caused the demolition of the structure.
He continued saying the government played no role in the transaction nor was it a party of the contract or the demolition exercise. But due to the nature of the Embassy being an accredited diplomatic mission in the country, the government intervened and agreed that compensation be paid to the embassy. He clarified that the compensation will not be paid by the Akufo Addo government but by those who were engaged in the demolition.
The Minister of Lands also demystified the myth around a portion of land owned by the Ghana Prisons Service which has become contentious in the media space due to the allegations of some politicians. Mr. Jinapor said “There is the issue of a land belonging to the Prisons Service at Roman Ridge, which was leased as far back as 2005, and which matter has gone to court and the court has delivered judgment on the matter. What is the role of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia Government in a land granted to a private developer as far back as 2005?” Samuel Jinapor restated that significant progress has been made in the government’s quest to reclaim state lands that have been encroached upon.
SOURCE : DEW360.NET
