The Chief Director of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Professor Patrick Agbesinyale has refuted claims suggesting that government engages the services of land guards to assist in reclaiming encroached state lands .
On Monday, July 17, Minority members of the Lands and Forestry Committee of Parliament accused the government of enlisting the services of land guards for the retrieval and protection of government lands.
The Minority members made the allegation based on statements allegedly made by the Chief Director of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Professor Patrick Agbesinyale, during a meeting with the Committee.
According to a leaked tape gone viral on social media, a male voice said to be that of Professor Patrick Agbesinyale accused the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police Service of being in alliance with land guards.
In view of this, the Deputy Ranking Member on the Lands and Forestry Committee of Parliament, Alhassan Suhuyini, lamented the lack of commitment on the part of the government to combat land guard activities.
“The other shocking revelation according to the Chief Director is that even the Ghana Armed Forces and the Police use this same land guard to protect their lands. So, if the military and the police cannot protect their own lands and have to resort to the use of a land guard, then what will be the fate of the common Ghanaian who wants to acquire land and is faced with land guards?” he quizzed.
However, appearing before the Public Account Commitee (PAC) on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, Prof. Agbesinyale elaborated his statement to the committee, which he seeks to disassociate himself from.
“I think land guard unfortunately is a terminology that all of us dont want to be associated with, at least we know what land guards are, they are illegal entities that operate and engage in all forms of criminal activities, I can’t imagine saying government uses land guards,” he explained.
The Chief Director added that “We cannot attribute land guards to our respectable security agencies, its unfair and I personally take a very strong exception to that, because I never mentioned land guard in my submission to the committee, I never”, he concluded.
Government and two state-security agencies have denied claims of any involvement with land guards in their quest to reclaim portions of encroached lands by illegal squatters.
according to the Ministry of Lands, the Lands Commission has legally engaged the services of Aynok Holding Limited, a registered limited liability company to assist in reclaiming encroached government lands.
That engagement, the ministry in a press statement dated July 17, 2023, said, has been in effect since 2012.
In a press statement signed by the Director General Public Relations, Brigadier General E Aggrey-Quashie, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) assured all that the allegation is false and should be treated with the contempt it deserves.
They argued that it is unimaginable that GAF cannot protect its own lands but rather indulge in an illegality by relying on the services of land guards, a proscribed activity.
“GAF deems this allegation as regrettable that news reports emanated from unsubstantiated allegations made by the Chief Director of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Prof Patrick Agbesinyale at a Parliamentary Committee meeting on 10 July 2023.
“We wish to stress that this allegation which was repeated by Hon Alhassan Suhuyini, Member of Parliament for Tamale North to the media is false and should be dismissed,” the statement added.
Over the matter, the Ghana Police Service said it “has not on any occasion engaged the services of land guards to reclaim or protect its lands.”
According to the Police, contrary to reports, the Service has in recent times intensified its anti-languard operations in communities affected by the activities of landguards.
This renewed effort, the Police said, “will not stop until perpetrators of such illegal activities are brought to justice.”
Meanwhile, the Deputy ranking member on the Lands and Forestry Committee of Parliament has requested the Lands Ministry to furnish the committee with the contract details between itself and Aynok Services Limited.
According to Mr Suhuyini, this is to allow Parliament to determine whether claims that the government has been contracting land guards to reclaim encroached lands on its behalf are true.
During an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show on July 18, 2023, Mr. Suhuyini said “We first want to introduce that contract to the committee and once that contract has been introduced to the committee, we can now invite him as a service provider to the ministry to speak on the contract and that is why we are focussed as a committee on the ministry providing us with that contract.”