Deputy National Coordinator and Director for A Rocha Ghana, Daryl Bosu, has called on government to provide clarification on the purported sale and redevelopment plans for the Achimota forest reserves.
Mr Bosu revealed that the decision taken by government to give portions of the land out is not justifiable and there is the need for it to come clean on its stance on the issue. He explained that his outfit finds solace in the fact that a lot of people already of the opinon that there is something wrong with the decision.
“… It is the same background we think that government needs to answer questions as to why given the choice of securing a green belt in the city, they chose to rather cut it into bit and give some away… We need the government to really let us know what informed this decision, who was involved in taking this decision and I believe that such a decision, an Executive Instrument would have gone with some administrative nod being informed by the forestry commission and even people at the Ministry of Lands.
“We have not and from our own checks with other institutions and other people, nobody heard of this. So, it’s quite a surprise and this is what we need government to let us know; when this discussion started, who was [involved] and how they reached this decision of the fact that the family deserves these areas.”
Daryl Bosu
Commenting on the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor’s dismissal of reports indicating that the Achimota Forest Reserve is being sold, Mr Bosu emphasized that he is “not concerned about the narrative the ministry is trying to ask and answer themselves”. He highlighted that the fact that a portion of the forest has been given out, for him, is a “worst case scenario”.
“If you are selling a place like this forest, we will ask ourselves; selling it for what? You can sell the place and it will still be used as a forest reserve, managed by some other entity for either carbon services or for eco-tourism purposes. But in this instance, the government is not selling and of course even now within the regime of law we have in the country you cannot sell land. So, there is no way that is even possible. But here is the case, if government really had a choice to decide what to do, why did government rather choose to give portions of the land degazetted and that is even more serious. So, from its originally constituted side of 495 hectares, the government says it is too big, let’s give portions of it for redevelopment and that is what is unfortunate.”
Daryl Bosu
Samuel Jinapor dismisses reports on sales of Achimota forest
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, speaking at a press conference on May 17, 2022, revealed that the Achimota Forest would not be sold. He noted that the government would continue to reforest and develop it into a true forest reserve to serve Accra and the people of Ghana. He opined that the Achimota Forest remains an integral part of “government’s plan for the protection of our forest cover, and our agenda for aggressive afforestation and reforestation”.
“Government, through the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, will continue to protect the Achimota Forest and prevent it from being further encroached.”
Samuel Abdulai Jinapor
Mr Jinapor indicated that the government was also committed to ensuring that whatever happened on the peripheral portions of the land did not affect the ecological integrity of the forest. He explained that EI 144 was to make the peripheral portions of the forest reserve cease to be a forest reserve to ensure a development that was consistent with the area of the forest reserve. Those portions, sections of which had been developed, had already been granted to the Owoo Family in September 2013.
