Pressure Group, Occupy Ghana, has admonished government to hold on to the rest of the parts of the lands at Achimota forest for relevant national purposes.

Reacting to government’s decision to re-classify some parts of the Achimota Forest land, it stated that although government has already agreed to release some of that land to the original owners by way of leases and is therefore contractually bound, that should be all.

According to Occupy Ghana, it does not find it to be in the national interest to return any further lands to the original owners. It added that government cannot give the impression that it has no interest in holding and managing land in the wider national interest.

“That is a very wrong signal and gross dereliction of its duty to the generality of Ghanaians on whose behalf it holds such lands. We therefore urge Government to rethink this matter, and freeze the size of the lands to be returned at the size stated in the 99-year Lease Agreements executed in 2013 with the original owners, and nothing more.”
Occupy Ghana

The group urged government to present to the people of Ghana on whose behalf it holds the land, with a clear development plan that considers and includes the original forestry purpose and other modern uses to which the land may be put. It also asked government to freeze all planned return of compulsorily acquired lands.

“Ghana cannot and should not be returning any compulsorily acquired lands or state lands. And there appears to be a serious disconnect in government policy that returns lands for nothing, at a time when the Health Minister has announced that the Agenda 111 Health Project is stalled because of land litigation problems.”
Occupy Ghana

Conduct audits of all lands

Occupy Ghana suggested to government, if it has not already done so, to conduct and publish an audit of all lands that it holds and come up with a clear national strategy on the use to which those lands are being or will be put, to serve national developmental goals.

Occupy Ghana stated that it has closely followed the public discussions on the issue of re-classifying some parts of the lands acquired in the 1920s and classified as the Achimota Forest Reserve and has formed the view that, apart from the portions leased back to the original owners in 2013, Government should hold the rest of the land, maintain some of it as a green belt, and use the rest in the broader national interest.

The Group posited that the history of Government’s holding of compulsorily acquired lands is nothing to write home about. It explained that the overall management of these lands has been haphazard and messy, record-keeping has been largely and sometimes, deliberately derelict and shambolic.

“There is also evidence of how some of these lands, under the guise of being returned to the original owners, have ended up in the hands of Government and party officials. These factors combine to make Ghanaians extremely suspicious of any land transaction involving Government, and for good cause and reason.”
Occupy Ghana