Government Takes Steps to Protect Parks and Garden Lands – Adjei Korsah
The Minister for Local Government, Decentralization, and Rural Development, Martin Adjei Korsah, has assured that lands belonging to the Department of Parks and Gardens are being protected, and encroached lands will be retrieved.
According to him, the Ministry is taking a holistic approach in consultation with the Lands Commission to secure all legal documents protecting public vested lands, including those of the Department of Parks and Gardens.
Mr. Adjei Korsah disclosed this while appearing before Parliament on Thursday, July 4, to answer an urgent question posed by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu. The North Tongu MP inquired about the Ministry’s actions to protect lands belonging to the Department of Parks and Gardens in Accra and other regions.
“Mr. Speaker, I rise to ask the Minister for Local Government, Decentralization, and Rural Development what the Ministry is doing to protect land belonging to the Department of Parks and Gardens in Accra and other parts of Ghana, considering recent claims by some private developers of securing titles for Parks and Gardens lands, particularly in Cantonments,” Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa queried the Minister.
In response, Mr. Adjei Korsah explained that in 2022, he, along with officials of the Department of Parks and Gardens, conducted a comprehensive inventory of all assets, including lands belonging to the Department. A report was prepared, capturing all lands under the Department and, by extension, the Ministry.
“To ensure a holistic approach to protecting public vested lands like those of the Department, the Ministry has been consulting with key stakeholders, particularly the Lands Commission, to access the Executive Instruments that secured these lands and prevent encroachment. We have also collaborated with all the Regional Coordinating Councils to engage their respective Regional Lands Commissions to take necessary steps to protect all lands belonging to the Department. To physically secure these lands, the Ministry is taking measures to provide fencing with walls and hedges to prevent any encroachment.“
“Currently, as Minister, I am still pursuing the matter and engaging all stakeholders to protect and secure titles for those lands that do not have or cannot be traced at the Lands Commission,” Adjei Korsah added.
Regarding the specific case of the Department of Parks and Gardens’ lands in Cantonments, the Minister stated that the recent claimant to the portion of the land claimed to have acquired the title but could not produce any documentation after taking the matter to court.
The court, he said dismissed the case and requested the Plaintiff to re-enter the case with proper documentation. Checks revealed that the claimant did not have any valid documentation for the land. The land in question has a valid Certificate of Allocation dated October 2, 1952, to the Department of Parks and Gardens.
For the Department’s land in Wa,Mr Adjei Korsah confirmed that the Certificate of Allocation dated November 27, 1975, has been retrieved from the Lands Commission. The Ministry has served notice to reclaim the encroached lands of the Department in the Upper West Region and other areas.
The Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority (LUSPA) had in 2022 cautioned the public to stay away from using the land for any private development purposes.
The Minister emphasized that, pursuant to the Land Use and Spatial Planning Act, 2016 (Act 925) and its Regulations, as well as the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936), the usage of green belts, gardens, and parks cannot be altered except through Parliament.
The Ministry, Adjei Korsah said is working closely with LUSPA to ensure that all developers and citizens adhere to planning and development permitting processes under the purview of the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies.
“Mr. Speaker, I wish to assure you that the Ministry will vigorously pursue the protection of all lands belonging to the Department and ensure that no developer or individual encroaches on the said lands, except for the purposes for which they were acquired by the Government of Ghana,” he concluded.
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Source: Felix Nyaaba // expressnewsghana.com
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