The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr. Samuel Abu Jinapor, has said a Committee has been set up to take inventory of all state acquired lands and ensure that all vested lands were protected from encroachment.
State lands mean all land owned or held in trust by the state that is managed by the State Land Department.
Addressing the media in Accra, Mr. Abu Jinapor said “The current law that regulates property rates cannot include land as a variable or ingredient for valuation of the property and so you value the property based on the structure and not the value of the land and I think it’s inequitable and unfair. Therefore the new policy would ensure equity in property valuation”.
In 2020, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources started a nationwide exercise to reclaim state lands illegally occupied by individuals, businesses, and organizations.
As part of the exercise, the ministry entered into a partnership with the security agencies and Anyok Holdings Limited, a private development company, to undertake “approved demolition exercises” and prosecute encroachers of state lands, especially in the Greater Accra Region.
Some of the areas include Achimota School and the University of Ghana, the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), the Afienya site for urban renewal and industrial enclave and road reservations, especially the Accra-Tema Motorway.
The ministry had decided to be ruthless in its approach because encroachers of state lands had become “recalcitrant” over the years.
Source: Mybrytfmonline.com/Kofi Atakora
