Samuel Abdulai Jinapor
GOVERNMENT HAS returned a considerable number of lands to the people of La in the Greater-Accra Region, and other traditional authorities across the country, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor has said.
According to him, the ministry has set up a committee chaired by the Member of Parliament for Asante-Akyem North, Andrew Appiah-Kubi, who is well versed in matters of land administration, to look at “all the matters related to vested lands across the country.”
Contributing to a statement on the floor of Parliament yesterday, Mr. Jinapor indicated that the Government of President Akufo-Addo was working tirelessly to resolve all matters relating to Greater-Accra lands.
“In fact, a good number of them have been returned by the government; considerable number of lands have been returned to the people of La, and other regions under President Akufo-Addo,” he stated, adding, “We will holistically, and once and for all resolve this age-old problem of land tenure in our country.
“We are working day and night to resolve it. These are systemic endemic problems of the 1960s but this government is determined to resolve the matter. We have resolved many of these matters and we will continue,” the Minister stressed.
He asserted that there is a lot of work done in the area of La lands, saying, “I have had multiple interactions with the La Traditional Council, and several other states, and we are working around the clock to ensure that these matters are resolved.”
“It is also important to acknowledge that when it comes to matters to do with lands, compensation for lands, ownership of lands, allodial titles and all matters related to lands, are complicated, complex and require a lot of skills to unravel them,” he noted.
“My able Deputy Minister, Benito Owusu Bio is working tirelessly. He chairs a committee from the government side that is engaging the La Traditional Council.”
He pointed out that government had had a lot of difficulties sometimes with who to deal with, and other matters relating to locus, but “we are trying to tidy the matters.”
“I want to conclude by making the point that, issues of land tenure, land administration, and public lands are, with the greatest of respect, not peculiar to Greater-Accra.
“I have visited all the 16 regions of our country, and had an opportunity of interacting with the 16 Regional House of Chiefs, and there has not been a single Regional House of Chiefs I have appeared before where matters of lands – acquisition of land, compensation, and all the issue – have not been brought to my attention,” he said.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House