President tightens grip on public lands - Presidential approval now needed for sale, transfer

Cabinet has instructed all public institutions in possession of public lands to desist from selling or transferring them to third parties without authorisation from the President.

The directive further advised the public not to enter into contract with any public institution for the transfer of land which had not been expressly authorised by the President.

The directive, which is meant to protect public lands from being used other than for the public purposes for which they were allocated to such institutions, was given by Cabinet during its 76th meeting held on July 18, this year.

It indicated that public institutions can only transfer interests in public lands under their control by an express written consent from the President, through the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources.

“No public institution, public body or public corporation (public universities inclusive) shall lease, sublet, assign, transfer, dispose of, or otherwise create any third party interest in any public land granted or allocated to that public institution, public body or public corporation without the express written consent of the President of the Republic, given through his Minister responsible for Lands. The relevant Minister shall be notified as the case may be,” the directive stated.

Report

Cabinet gave the directive after considering a report by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor, on the need to protect public lands and ensure that they were used in the interest of the public and the legal advice provided by the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice on the report.

A communiqué announcing the directive, signed by Mr Jinapor, said Cabinet took the initiative to protect the public interest and stop the practice of public institutions releasing lands without approval by the government

“Cabinet deems it necessary to protect public lands granted to public institutions for public purposes, ensure that these lands are utilised for the purposes for which they were granted to such public institutions, and ultimately, secure the public interest,” the communiqué said.

What the law says

The Cabinet directive is premised on Article 257 (1) of the 1992 Constitution which stipulates “that all public lands in Ghana shall be vested in the President on behalf of, and in trust for, the people of Ghana.”

Again Article 20 (1) of the 1992 Constitution gives the State the power to compulsorily acquire any land or property in Ghana.

However, Article 20(5) of the 1992 Constitution stipulates that any land or property compulsorily acquired by the State “shall be used only in the public interest or for the public purpose for which it was acquired”.

Land grabbing

The issue of selling or leasing of state lands and properties to public officials, businessmen, politicians and others has dominated the country for decades, transcending many administrations.

It has also become a powerful political campaign message, with the two dominant political parties — the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) — accusing each other of outdoing the other by selling state lands and properties cheaply to their cronies.

While some have termed the practice as state capture and a concerted effort by politicians and other powerful individuals to loot the country dry, others have disagreed, arguing that there was nothing illegal about buying public lands, with the courts even affirming this position.

In 2013, the Supreme Court dismissed a suit by the two members of the NDC, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, and former Minister of Communications, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, who challenged the legality of the selling of a bungalow to Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, a former Minister in the Kufuor Administration.

In 2017, a former minister of Lands and Natural Resources under the Mahama Administration, Inusah Fuseini, told the media that during his tenure, he inherited a long list of people who wanted to buy state lands and were awaiting allocation.

In 2022, there was public condemnation after a purported will of the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Forestry Commission, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, aka Sir John, became public, in which he had gifted part of lands at the Achimota Forest and the Sakumono Ramsar site to his relatives.

However, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Jinapor, debunked the allegation, explaining that Sir John had no ownership over any portion of the Achimota Forest.

“Further checks at the Lands and the Forestry Commissions, the repositories of the records of the lands in question, show no record of ownership of Lands at the Achimota Forest or the Sakumono Ramsar Site by the late Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie,” he said.

“That said, given the totality of the circumstances of the said allegations, I, as Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, have directed the Lands and Forestry Commissions to deem any ownership of lands, both in the Achimota Forest and the Sakumono Ramsar Site by the late Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie as void and are to take the appropriate actions accordingly,” the Minister said in a press release.

Recently, Mr Ablakwa has accused the government of selling the lands of public institutions such as the Parks and Gardens, Judicial Service, the Prisons Service and the Du Bois Centre, all in Accra, to its cronies, describing the said sales as state capture.

In response, Mr Jinapor rejected the allegations, describing them as false. According to the minister, the Parks and Gardens lands and Judicial Service lands were respectively leased to private companies on November 29, 2016 and July 13, 2015 during the Mahama-led NDC Administration.

For the Prisons Service lands, Mr Jinapor explained that they were allocated in 2005 during the Kufuor-led NPP Administration, while the Du Bois Centre land had not been sold contrary to allegations by Mr Ablakwa.

“From the foregoing, it is clear that the lands, the subject matter of the Member of Parliament’s allegations, were not sold and/or leased under the current administration, and the allegations of state capture are, therefore, false,” he stated.

Writer’s email: emma.hawkson@graphic.com.gh