Lands Ministry Denies Contracting Land Guards: Private Company Used To Protect State Lands

• The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has denied claims that it uses land guards
• The ministry said it has been using a private firm to protect state lands from encroachers
• The lands ministry further assured that it uses only legal processes to reclaim state lands from encroachment

The lands ministry has denied allegations that it has used land guards to protect its lands.

The ministry in a statement explained that it has instead contracted a private company, Aynok Holding Limited, since 2012 to assist in the reclaiming of government lands.

"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," the ministry insisted.

Earlier reports indicated that the lands ministry's chief director, Patrick Agbesinyale, had said the government was utilising land guards to protect state lands.

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He told a committee in parliament last week that the government uses land guards to avoid backlash.

The chief director also reportedly said the police and army were using land guards.

Shock from Minority in Parliament

Minority MPs in parliament said they were shocked by the claims made by the chief director.

Alhassan Suhuyini, the Tamale North MP, said he expected the government to be focusing on sanitising the land tenure system.

He also said he was scandalised by the fact the security services were also using land guards.

The Vigilantism and Related Offenses Act was passed in 2019 to make the use of land guards to protect or guard property illegal.

Past land guard troubles

In December 2022, YEN.com.gh reported that a group of land guards attacked some construction workers at Gomoa Fetteh in the Central Region.

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The construction workers in turn shot at the land guards, wounding one of them.

YEN.com.gh also reported that in April 2021, land guards disrupted a press conference organised by a New Patriotic Party group at Dansoman.

The land guards, numbering about 20, ransacked the venue and chased away reporters covering the event.

Source: YEN.com.gh