‘Everything I have done, I inherited it’ – Abu Jinapor on Achimota Forest declassification

Portions of Achimota Forest returned to Owoo family

Acreage to Owoo family was determined by the Afare-Dartey Committee, Abu Jinapor

Achimota Forest not for sale, Lands Minister

The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has indicated that he has no hand in the allocation of

Read full articleacreage of the family land to the Owoo family.

According to him, the acreage was determined by the Afare-Dartey Committee during the erstwhile Mahama administration.

He added that his outfit only approved what had been done by the previous government.

His comment is on the back concerns raised about the number of acres of land to be released to the Owoo family.

The minority and civil society have indicated that the state owed the Owoo family 90 acres instead of the 361 acres of peripherals of the forest land which was contained in the Executive Instrument, E.I. 144.

Reacting to these claims, the Lands Minister said, “Everything I have done I inherited it; the matters to do with the acreage, all of it. We never made any determination about acreage, we never made any determination about whether they’re entitled, what acreage they’re entitled to and so on and so forth.

“All of those were inherited. And those were done by the Afare-Dartey committee. Those determinations were made by the Afare-Dartey committee. All we have had to do was to amend the E.I, the Forest Reserve E.I in order to de-gazette the part which has already been determined and agreed upon,” he was quoted by myjoyonline.com.

He added that his Ministry will look into the concerns of Ghanaians in regard to the acreage that will be given to the Owoo family.

“Look I’ve heard people raise issues about the acreage, I wouldn’t say I come to these matters totally above board, we will take a look at it, that’s what I can say. That’s what I can say for the time being, we’ll take a look at it. If it’s such a major issue we will take a look at it, and the chips will fall where they may.

“I’ll have no difficulty before I come to the conclusion that the acreage is too much or any examination or interrogation were to come to the conclusion that the acreage is too much, we’ll act upon it,” he said.

There have been some mixed reactions on social media after the government revealed some portions of the Achimota Forest in Accra will no longer serve as a forest reserve.

This comes after an Executive Instrument (E.I.) 144 gazetted on behalf of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on April 19, 2022, and quoted by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, emerged on social media.

Per the document, effective May 1, 2022, those portions [361 acres], sections of which had been developed and had already been released to the Owoo Family in September 2013, is no longer a forest reserve.

However, some Ghanaians have taken to social media to protest against the sale of the forest reserve.

But Samuel Abu Jinapor has denied the forest reserve has been sold.

During a press conference on May 17, the minister said the Executive Instrument, E.I. 144, pertained to 361 acres of peripherals of the Achimota forest that the government is returning to its custodial owners, identified as the Owoo family because the land was not being used for its intended purpose, which included the extension of the Achimota School.