Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has confirmed that a deal has been struck to return 262 acres of the Achimota Forest to its original owners, the Owoo family.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, the Minister explained that the land was scheduled for return based on a 2013 decision made by President Mahama’s government, with Cabinet approval given on September 5, 2013.
As a result, the current administration is bound by the decision made by the previous government.
“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,” he said.
In 2022, an Executive Instrument 144 issued by President Akufo-Addo to reclassify 362 acres of forest land for return to the Owoo family received a public backlash.
However, Mr Jinapor has said that the acreage has been reduced to 262 acres after negotiations to address concerns about the ecological integrity of the forest.
“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,” he noted.
The Minister continued, “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 meter of the Achimota Forest Land.”