The Minority Caucus in Parliament has made claims that the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources hires land guards to protect its lands, but the Ministry has refuted these claims.
Indicating that it was a revelation made by the Chief Director of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Professor Patrick Agbesinyale during a meeting with the Committee, minority members of the Parliamentary Lands and Forestry Committee accused the government of using land guards to recover and protect government lands.
But the Ministry in response said it has only engaged the services of “Aynok Holding Limited, a registered limited liability company to assist in reclaiming encroached government lands,” and that particular “engagement has been in effect since 2012.”
Below is the Ministry’s full statement
GOVERNMENT DOES NOT ENGAGE LAND GUARDS – LANDS MINISTRY
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources by this Press Release refutes the allegations made by the Daily Post Newspaper and the Ghana web online news platform on the 17th, Day of July 2023, on a purported statement made by the Chief Director of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources captioned “Chief Director at the Lands Ministry reveals Ministry of Lands, Military and Police, have been contracting Land Guards” and “Government engages services of lands guards – Chief Director of Lands Ministry” respectively.
The Ministry would like to set the records straight that Government and for that matter the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources does not contract the services of land guards in its operations.
However, the Ministry through its agency, Lands Commission legally engaged the services of Aynok Holding Limited, a registered limited liability company to assist in reclaiming encroached government lands. This engagement has been in effect since 2012.
We wish to categorically state that Government and by extension, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources employs legal processes to reclaim all encroached state lands.
END
SIGNED
CHIEF DIRECTOR
MINISTRY OF LANDS AND NATURAL RESOURCES
