A former Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, says some of his Colleagues in the John Dramani Mahama administration cannot escape blame in the controversies surrounding the increase of the acreage of Achimota forest land ceded to the Owoo family.
In the latest twist to the Achimota forest circus details have emerged on how the Mahama administration rather increased the acreage to the Owoo family from 90 to 118 acres contrary to a November 2008 MoU and an agreement signed between the erstwhile Kufour administration and the family.
A deep throat source in the former NDC administration has said that “The objective was to release a total of 193 acres out of the forest reserve lands and reclassify same as public lands. The Owoo family was to be granted a lease for not more than 90 acres out of this 193 acres. The schedule of the Agreement referred to 193 acres.”
It continued: “The Mahama administration’s cabinet rather granted 118 acres to the Owoo family without more. Unlike the Kufour administration, We had no plans of reclassifying any portion of the reserve.”
In the view of the source it is true that the Kufour [administration] agreed to grant 90 acres to the Owoo family as claimed by the current minister. But the total land that was to be reclassified was 193 acres.
“And so Inusah is right when he says that we [the Mahama-led NDC] reduced the portion to be released from the forest reserve from 193 acres to 118 acres” it stated.
The source insisted that “Now the issue has to do with the subsequent variations from 118 acres to 148 acres and eventually to 198 acres. The CEO of the Forestry Commission at the time, Mr. Afari and Minister Nii Osah Mills are the only ones who can speak to that…”
source mypuyblisher24.com
