OneGhana Movement, a thought leadership and social action NGO, has suggested to the government to annul the Executive Instrument (EI) declassifying the Achimota Forest with immediate effect.
The civil society group said failure to do so will endanger the Achimota Forest which is currently one of the ecological heritage in Ghana.
Talking to Kwaku Nhyira-Addo on The Asaase Breakfast Show on Tuesday (31 May), the spokesperson of OneGhana Movement Kwesi Keli-Delataa said: “There is no compulsion on government through the 1992 Constitution for the return of key lands that are not effectively the property of government. And I have heard some government and past government officials say that the decision was made on compassionate grounds.”
“Being compassionate to them does not necessarily mean the lands have to be returned to them, being compassionate to them could mean that you have given them gold in return for the forest. It could mean that you have given them money and not returning the forest to them,” he said.
Keli-Delataa said the One Ghana Movement will do everything possible to ensure the Achimota Forest is protected.
“We all agree that the Achimota Forest is such a tremendous ecological heritage, we will do everything to protect it and that is our expectation of government at this point in time , that the government will do everything to protect the Achimota Forest, ” he said.
“Somethings maybe illegal but it is not everything which is wise,” he added.
Listen to Kwesi Keli-Delataa in the attached audio below:
No one will inherit Sir John’s alleged land at Achimota Forest
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has served notice that the Achimota Forest and Sakumono Ramsar Site lands cited in the alleged will of the late Forestry Commission CEO, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, popularly called Sir John will not be inherited by anyone even if ownership by the deceased is established.
“Preliminary inquiries reveal that the alleged Will in question is a subject matter of litigation/contestation in the courts,” the minister Samuel Abu Jinapor said.
“Further checks at the Lands and the Forestry Commissions, the repositories of the records of the lands in question, show no record of ownership of Lands at, the Achimota Forest or the Sakumono Ramsar Site, by the late Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie”.
Read the full statement below:
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has begun investigations into the alleged inclusion of land situated at the Achimota Forest among properties listed in the will of the late chief executive of the Forestry Commission Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, popularly known as Sir John.
The decision to launch the investigation follows the publication of a will, purported to be by Sir John. The ten-page document has been circulating on social media and follows an affirmation by the government that it will protect the forest reserve in Achimota.
A statement issued by the ministry on Sunday (22 May 2022) said it has requested to see all documents relating to the land in question, at the start of an inquiry into the truth of the claims.
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources said it will ensure the national interest is protected at all times in matters relating to the Achimota Forest.
Fred Dzakpata
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