The Minority in Parliament has called on the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to urgently disclose the list of lands in the Northern Region that have been leased without proper approval.
According to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament, revealing this information is crucial for recovering the lands and identifying those responsible for the unauthorised leases.
Addressing the press on Tuesday, September 3, Alhassan Suhuyini, the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Lands and Natural Resources Committee, criticised the government for its tendency to withhold information from the public.
He emphasised the importance of transparency in dealing with such matters, particularly when public lands are involved.
Mr. Suhuyini urged the government to make the list of government lands leased without prior approval available to the public, allowing Ghanaians to assess the situation themselves.
He argued that, public scrutiny is essential in ensuring accountability and preventing further unauthorised land deals.
In addition to releasing the list, the NDC MPs called for sanctions against any staff members of the Lands Commission involved in these illegal activities.
Mr. Suhuyini stressed that strict disciplinary actions should be taken to deter others from engaging in similar practices.
“Distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the press, thanks to our collective activism against dubious allocations of state lands to private individuals, the government has since forced a retreat and announced that the Northern Regional Lands Commission has been directed to reverse a number of leases over public lands granted to private developers without the prior approval of the President of the Republic.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, it will be most irresponsible on the part of the Minister and President if the officials involved in the criminal allocation of the said leases of government land, without the prior approval of neither the president nor minister, are not sanctioned.”
“We therefore demand the swift dismissal and criminal investigation of the officials involved in allocating the said leases without the approval of the President. We also request the Minister in the interest of transparency and good governance to publish the full report of the three-member committee the ministry set up to investigate the transfer of the public lands in the Northern Region,” he stated.
Source: Myjoyonline
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