The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has confirmed that an agreement has been reached to release 262 acres of the Achimota Forest to its allodial owners, the Owoo family.
This decision follows the controversy triggered by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s issuance of Executive Instrument 144, which initially aimed to reclassify 362 acres of the forest land for return to the Owoo family.
After negotiations, the acreage to be released was reduced to 262 acres to address concerns about the ecological integrity of the forest.
At a press briefing on Wednesday, August 14, 2024, Mr. Jinapor explained that the decision to return the land to the Owoo family was made by President Mahama’s government in 2013, with cabinet approval granted on September 5, 2013.
He emphasised that the current administration is bound by the previous government’s decisions, which had already leased out 362 acres of land.
However, Mr. Jinapor revealed that his team negotiated a reduction of 100 acres with the Achimota Forest stakeholders, citing concerns about the ecological integrity of the forest.
According to him, the agreement now stands at 262 acres, with stringent measures in place to ensure that individuals cannot take possession of the land without meeting certain conditions.
“As far as September 5th, 2013, President Mahama’s government granted a cabinet approval for the return of this land to the Owoo family and at the time I became the Minister, a total of 362 acres of land had been concluded, leases have been given in respect of those lands, decisions have been made that 362 of the Achimota lands be returned to the Minister for one consideration or the other and that transcended from President Kufour’s government to Akufo-Addo’s government up to 2021 when I became the Minister.”
“We’ve set up a team, we went into negotiations with the Achimota Forest because we are concerned about the ecological integrity of the forest and we wanted a buffer. We wanted a buffer for what the Owoo family will have and what will now constitute today’s Achimota forest.
“We were able to negotiate a reduction of 100 acres out of the 362 acres, which had been cast in iron by the previous government and the current administration had been bound legally by the previous government for the release of 362 acres of the Achimota government.”
“As we speak today, we’ve negotiated a reduction of 100 acres and now the parcel of the land that is supposed to be released back to the family is 262 acres. Now, we’ve structured the agreement in such a way that even for an individual to take possession of the land given the ecological sensitivity of the forest reserve, we’ve put in place stringent measures before the person can take possession of the land.
“So as I speak today, even though the transaction was concluded a year ago, nobody is taking even a square metre of the Achimota Forest Land.”
Source: www.kumasimail.com
