Drama unfolded at a forum organised by the Lands Commission to educate the people of the Volta Region on land usage when a group of people, who had earlier accused the Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Letsa, of grabbing state lands, turned round to apologise to him.
The public apology followed a categorical statement by officials of the Lands Commission that the Regional Minister, as far as they were concerned, had not bought any state land in Ho.
It all started when Mr. Stanley Glate, a member of the Coalition of Volta Youth, expressed concern over the manner government lands in Ho were being sold for just GH¢2,000 and GH¢3,000, instead of protecting them for future government projects.
According to the group, the most annoying aspect of it all was that after buying the lands at a very low price, the beneficiaries would resell them at a higher price, ranging between GH¢35,000 and GH¢40,000.
After making this allegation, Mr. Glate turned to the Minister and said: “Hon. Minister, it has now been made clear that you did not purchase any government land as the Coalition of Volta Youth wrongly accused you. On behalf of the youth, I apologise sincerely and regret what our accusations might have caused you.”
Mr. Glate continued that the issue of sale of government land to people was of much concern to the youth, and made it clear that they (youth) were not interested in any law that would pave way for the sale of state lands, instead of preserving these lands for future generations.
According to Glate, the Regional Education Office had been housed in a wooden structure over the years and needed a decent office accommodation, the Food and Drugs Authority and the Ghana Immigration Service also needed office accommodation, and that the lands being sold to private individuals could have been given to these institutions.
Mr. Glate further told the forum that what annoyed them most was the fact that these government lands were being sold under the cover of darkness mostly to politicians.
He alleged that the Ho Municipal Assembly, of which he was a member, had to pay a judgment debt of over GH¢700,000 for government land that was sold at GH¢400,000, warning that such a practice would not be allowed to continue.
However, a participant at the forum, Mr. George Kofi Boateng, disagreed with Mr. Glate, who earlier said the youth were not interested in any law that would grant the sale of state lands to individuals.
He explained that such statements were out of place because Ghana is governed by laws and not emotions, and that the youth have no power to prevent the Lands Commission from executing its constitutional mandate.
Mr. Boateng observed that the Lands Commission, in the discharge of its constitutional mandate, did not violate the law, but rather worked within it and that the stance that had been taken by the Volta Youth would lead to lawlessness. He cited an instance where some members of the Volta Youth demanded that the Lands Commission should give back monies accrued from the sale of government lands.
The Volta Regional Lands Officer, Mr. Jonathan Kwabla, on his part, explained that his outfit does not sell lands, but rather leases land according to the law. He stressed that government acquisition of land in the region was for the purposes of agriculture, residential, light industrial area, civic and cultural uses, and mentioned some of the state acquisitions in the region as the Tongu and Aveyime cattle ranch sites at Adidome and Aveyime.
Others include Sogakope cotton project, Ho Airport site, the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), SSNIT, residency area, Kabore and agriculture lands. All these lands, he continued, were acquired by the government in the region and compensation duly paid, and that the Lands Commission is administering them on behalf of the state.
He explained that his outfit, in 2015, embarked on an infilling exercise to ensure efficient land use, and also to meet the demand for plots of state lands for residential and office accommodation in Ho.
The Lands Commissions, he further told the forum, had over the years given state lands for agricultural purposes such as the banana plantation by Musahamat at Aveyime, Vegpro and Goshen Porch Ranch at Torgome, all to private investors.
Mr. Kwabla further explained that the in-filling exercise was to address the incidence of vast parcels of land partly developed with residential bungalows with excesses land left. Since this is perceived as the waste of the land, the Regional Lands Commission sought approval from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, through the Lands Commission headquarters, for the in-filling exercise, which was approved.
He said some allocations were done at the residency area and Kabore School area, but the current Volta Regional Minister, in 2017, advised against allocations that compromised the security of the residency and other government installations.
This, he said, led to the formation of a committee by the Lands Commission to review the entire exercise, and those who had lands leased to them close to the residency and state installations were relocated.
The Volta Regional Minister made it clear that he would never acquire state land, because he had enough land at Klefe, his hometown.
The post Volta Youth apologises to Minister overland grabbing accusation appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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