The Lands Commission has been urged to work with the Forestry Commission in dealing decisively with the encroachment within the catchment areas of the Owabi and Barekese Dams.

"I have directed the Executive-Secretary of the Lands Commission and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Forestry Commission to take immediate steps to reverse the situation.

"I expect this to be rectified in a matter of weeks, and not months," Mr. Samuel A. Jinapor, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, warned, when he inaugurated the re-constituted Ashanti Regional Lands Commission, in Kumasi.

The Minister said it was unfortunate that some of the encroachers had resorted to the use of poisonous chemicals in farming around the water bodies.

Additionally, the dumping of refuse and other plastic materials, illegal sand mining and deforestation, according to him, posed a serious threat to the Dams, which served as the major sources of drinking water to Ghana's second-largest-city.

Those bad practices led to a high pollution of the two major water bodies, Mr. Jinapor bemoaned.

He called on the Lands Commission to work assiduously to ensure the judicious use of land in the Region.

This was important given the strategic location of the Region, he noted, adding that this makes the land resources important and attractive for investors, who require land for industrial, agricultural, residential and commercial purposes.

The Minister charged the re-constituted Commission to intensify public education on their roles and responsibilities in order to engender public confidence in their activities.

The 50-member Commission has Nana Nsuase Poku-Agyemang III as the Chairman.