Parliament Protection of Public Lands: Ghana Government Must Be Stopped From Selling Land…

The Lands Minister, Samuel Abu Jinapor has confirmed that the Government including various agencies are selling Lands to third-parties.

The Lands Minister said that it is illegal, indeed all these transactions are voided if President Akufo-Addo has not personally given written approval.

These Government Sale of Lands, is it aimed at balancing the budget or creating an opportunity for Government officials, their family members, friends and business associates to takeover the prime lands of Ghana?

Evidence shows that these illegal and unconstitutional sale of State Lands and Bungalows are at ridiculous prices;

These State Acquired Lands and Bungalows are resold by some of these third-parties at high prices making instant millionaires of the corrupt officials and the beneficiaries at the expense of the State and Stools who are the original Lands Owners who per the Constitution should have had these lands returned to or have the first right of refusal.

Presidential directives and Government Policies are not Superior to Laws or the Constitution of Ghana and to the extent that they are in conflict with the Constitution, are null and void.

The Accra Redevelopment Policy and the In-Filling Policy as well as the directives that Samuel Abu Jinapor claims were given by President Akufo-Addo are illegal, unconstitutional and thus null and void.

Beneficiaries of these illegal and unconstitutional policies and directives are therefore not owners of the State Lands and Bungalows even if they hold title documents issued by the Lands Commission.

The Lands Commission documents according to the Lands Minister are unreliable as staff of the Commission take these documents home and falsify the documents…

The Lands Commission rezoning is illegal as they have no such mandate, the Assemblies may rezone but require Parliamentary approval.

GOVERNMENT MUST NOT SELL LAND UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

Parliament must prohibit State Lands being sold, leased or transferred to anybody not only politically exposed persons and their families.

Government through the President may acquire Lands anywhere in Ghana for a particular purpose from a Stool; these lands must EXCLUSIVELY BE FOR STATE INSTITUTIONS not transferable to third-parties…

All third-party persons and private institutions wishing to acquire Lands must go through the regular process of acquiring land not through Government allocation or transfer.

Parliament must prohibit State Lands being sold, leased or transferred to anybody not only politically exposed persons and their families.

The Judiciary must facilitate the immediate review of the Supreme Court ruling on the Kpobi Tettey Tsuru III vs Attorney General; which judgement is considered a travesty of Justice that opened the floodgates for the ongoing Looting of Prime State Lands and fraudulent allocation of State Bungalows to third-parties at the expense of the La Stool, from whom Government originally acquired the Lands.

Article 20 of the Constitution of Ghana is clear on the return of State Acquired Lands to the Pre-acquisition Land Owners.

This provision is contained in other previous Constitutions and implied in the letter and spirit within which such acquisitions are made.

Government is smuggling to acquire lands for key National Developmental Projects such as Schools and Hospitals; because every Stool knows that these lands once given will eventually be transferred to private third-parties as is happening to the La Stool citing the self-seeking Government policies and the interpretation of Article 20 of the Constitution by the Supreme Court…

All State Acquired Lands in the possession of third-parties must be retrieved and/or returned to the Original Pre-acquisition Land Owners.

The President must be compelled to publish the status of all State Acquired Lands and Bungalows.

Failure to publish means complicity in the Land Looting especially as the Lands Minister has indicated that there is no transaction on any State Land that is valid without a written approval of President Akufo-Addo.

Ghanaians are resolved to be Citizens and not Spectators;

Ghanaians will soon take actions in defence of the Constitution which may include Citizens Arrests of culprits including Government officials…

STAY TUNED.

By Prince-Derek Adjei