Government To Release 262 Acres Of Achimota Forest Land To Owoo Family

• The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has confirmed the government's plan to release 262 acres of Achimota Forest land to the Owoo family
• He explained that the decision to release the land was in fulfilment of an agreement reached between the erstwhile Mahama administration and the Owoo family
• He said the release of land to the family comes with stringent measures to ensure that individuals seeking to take possession of the land meet certain conditions

The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has confirmed the government’s decision to release 262 acres of the Achimota Forest to the Owoo family.

The Owoo family claims to be the allodial owners of the Achimota Forest and have been demanding a portion of it to be released to them for development.

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The land’s release was made possible following President Akufo-Addo’s issuance of Executive Instrument 144, which reclassified 362 acres of forest land for return to the Owoo family.

However, following a series of negotiations, the agreed acreage to be released to the family has been reduced to 262 to address ecological concerns.

The lands minister at a press briefing on Wednesday, August 14, 2024, explained that the Akufo-Addo-led administration was merely fulfilling an agreement entered into by the erstwhile Mahama administration and the Owoo family.

He disclosed that the Mahama administration had agreed to lease out 362 acres of the forest land to the family and had received cabinet approval on September 5, 2013.

He stressed that as such, the current government is bound by that decision to lease out the land.

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However, following concerns about the ecological integrity of the forest should 362 acres of it be released for development, Jinapor and his team negotiated a 100-acre reduction.

He said the 262 acres to be released to the Owoo family will be subject to stringent measures to ensure that individuals seeking to take possession of the land meet certain conditions.

Achimota Forest land controversy

The Achimota Forest land has been embroiled in several controversies.

In 2022, it was alleged that the Owoo family had received portions of the forest land that had been purchased by the colonial government for the Achimota Forest Reserve.

However, reacting to the allegations, the family stressed that it had received no such land from the government in 2016.

The principal elders of the family explained that the claim that they had recovered part of the land was erroneous and misleading.

They stated that the family had been invited by the then Mahama-led administration’s sod-cutting ceremony for the development of an eco-tourism park on the forest site.

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The family further stated that the acreage due them was arrived at through a long-standing negotiation that predates the current administration.

Osu Traditional Council contests Owoo family’s claim to land

YEN.com.gh reported that the Osu Traditional Council contested a claim by the government that the Owoo family of Osu are the custodians of the Achimota Forest land.

The council said the Owoo family could not be owners because they don't come from Osu, which is the rightful owner of the land.

A spokesperson for the Osu Stool urged the government to return 136 acres of peripheral land of the Achimota Forest Reserve to its rightful owners.

Proofread by Edwina N.K Quarcoo, journalist and copy editor at YEN.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh