'Don't politicise land issue'

Page 3
15-10-08

THE Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, has cautioned Ghanaians against politicising the issue of land in the country.
That, he said, was because that issue was very dear to the hearts of the people.
He said this when he announced the postponement of a scheduled press conference by the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines at the Conference Room of the Ministry of Information yesterday.
The Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, Mrs Esther Obeng-Dapaah, was expected to take her turn at the meet-the- press series to address fallout from the recent announcement by the government to release a percentage of lands in Accra that had been acquired by the state to their original owners.
Mr Asamoah-Boateng apologised to the press for the postponement of the event, which he said would be held next week Tuesday.
He said the recent decision to release lands in Accra was going to be replicated in the other regions, and that the process was an ongoing one, adding that matters of land were not the preserve of the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines alone but also the Attorney-General's Department, which was a key agency.
He underscored the need for the media to have a better understanding of the facts surrounding Accra lands and help to do away with emotions.
He said the media would not be helping the cause of the nation if they became sensational because everybody was screaming on the land matter.
On Ga-Dangme lands, Mr Asamoah-Boateng said the media could do more underground work by knowing the lands better, the stools and the families concerned to be able to report accurately.
He gave the assurance that the details and the facts behind the release of the lands would be made known next week.
The government last Wednesday announced that it was returning a percentage of lands in Accra that had been acquired by the state for various development projects to their original owners.
It, accordingly, directed the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines to prepare and submit proposals and modalities for consideration by Cabinet.
It said the gesture was in fulfilment of a promise made by the President, Mr J. A. Kufuor, to return part of those lands to the original owners.
Some of the lands to be released are at Mpehuasem at East Legon, which was acquired for the Accra Training College; the Ogbojo site for the National Women Training Centre; the Adenta site for the West Africa Secondary School; the Kwabenya Ghana Atomic Energy Commission site; the Odorgonno Secondary School site at Awoshie and the Bank for Housing and Construction site at Madina.