The Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to safeguarding lands belonging to the Department of Parks and Gardens in Accra and other regions from private encroachment.
The Ministry, he said, has been collaborating with key stakeholders, including the Lands Commission and Regional Coordinating Councils to protect these public lands.
Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah disclosed this in Parliament when responded to a question that stood in the name of Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
The North Tongu MP asked what the Ministry is doing to protect land belonging to the Department of Parks and Gardens in Accra and other parts of Ghana following recent claims by some private developers of securing title of Parks and Gardens claims particularly in Cantonments.
He said, “In 2022, we undertook a comprehensive inventory of all assets, including lands that belong to the Department of Parks and Gardens.”
“This inventory resulted in a detailed report that listed all lands under the department’s control.”
The Ministry, he said, is accessing the Executive Instruments that secured these lands to ward off any unscrupulous persons encroaching on them and also is working to physically secure these lands through the construction of fences and hedges.
Addressing the specific case of the Parks and Gardens land in Cantonments, the Minister revealed that a recent claimant could not provide documentation to support their title claim.
According to him, the court subsequently dismissed the case and requested the Plaintiff to re-enter the case with proper documentation.
Checks, he said, confirmed that the claimant had no valid documentation, while the land in question has a valid Certificate of Allocation dating back to October 2, 1952.
“In Wa, the Ministry retrieved a Certificate of Allocation dated November 27, 1975, and has served notice to reclaim encroached lands in the Upper West Region and other areas,” he said.
The Minister emphasized the importance of adherence to planning and development permitting processes, as mandated by the Land Use and Spatial Planning Act, 2016 (Act 925) and the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936).
He assured that the Ministry will vigorously pursue the protection of all lands belonging to the Department and ensure that no developer or individual encroach on the said lands, except for the purposes for which they were acquired by the Government of Ghana.
