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The Minister designate for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has expressed the government’s avowed commitment to stop the sale of state lands to safeguard the interests of Ghanaians.
He said the necessary measures would be taken to stop the cheap acquisition of public lands by individuals such as legislators, ministers of state and senior public servants at the people's expense.
“And if there is a need at all to give away state land, it must be evaluated and the current market value must be applied since that is what the people of Ghana deserve. We cannot do anything to shortchange the people of Ghana,” he said.
Appearing before the Appointments Committee of Parliament for his confirmation hearing yesterday, Mr Buah said: “I will protect the interests and assets of the people of Ghana.”
“If there is a critical need at all to give this land out, it has to be done with the current market value, cautiously understanding that the assets of the people of Ghana need to be protected and there has to be value for money,” he said.
The nominee, who spent almost four hours before the 11-member committee, gave the assurance in response to a question by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Damango, Samuel Abu Jinapor.
Mr Jinapor cited page 136 of the NDC manifesto, in which the party categorised all public land granted to individuals such as MPs, ministers, and senior public servants in areas such as Cantonments, Roman Ridge, and Airports as looted lands.
He also referenced a document showing that in 2010, 131 parcels of land were granted to private individuals during former President John Evans Atta Mills’s administration, 191 parcels of land were granted to individuals between 2014 and 2016 alone, and an additional 224 parcels of land were also granted to some individuals.
He, therefore, asked if the nominee would categorise those granted lands as looted.
Responding, Mr Buah stopped short of stating categorically that those public lands acquired by individuals were looted assets.
He told the committee that the importance of land had been underscored in Ghana’s Constitution.
He said that in Article 257 (1) of the Constitution, public lands vested in the President were of two types: state and vested lands.
He said the President was entrusted to hold those lands in trust for the people of Ghana.
“As a matter of fact, that is why at each point as the people's representatives, when it comes to issues of land it also requires ratifications,” he said.
Therefore, he said politicians who were entrusted with the responsibility for holding in trust or supervising the land for the people of Ghana had to be guided.
Unsatisfied with the nominee's answers, Mr Jinapor asked if the NDC government would consider those who bought state lands state looters and whether the Commission of Inquiry, which the party had promised, would begin from 1993 and continue until today.
The MP for Damango also sought to know if the NDC government would ban the sale of public lands as they promised Ghanaians.
Responding, Mr Buah said the guidelines of the Lands Commission for the sale of public lands required such lands to be valued and it was 25 per cent of the value that was sold, with the rest paid through ground rent.
“The commitment of the new NDC government is that such sale will not happen anymore.
“But if there is a need to sell it at all, it has to be done at the current market value that ensures that the people of Ghana are not shortchanged,” he said.
He recalled how President Mahama recently communicated that the sale of all state lands be put on hold until a thorough investigation and review were done.
“My task is that when I get the opportunity to go to the ministry, I will get a chance to review all these lands and what has been done and be in the position to make very good judgements,” he said.
Based on the promises of the NDC government to declare a state of emergency to combat illegal mining in forest reserves in the lead-up to the 2024 Elections, Mr Jinapor asked when such a state of emergency would be declared when given the nod.
In response, the nominee acknowledged that the previous administration made some efforts to combat illegal mining.
He, however, said at the end of eight years, the outcome “is degraded land, polluted water bodies, an all-time turbidity levels and wanton destruction of forest reserves”.
These are facts that clearly indicate that that fight was a failure,” he said.
On what he would do to turn around such failure, Mr Buah said the NDC government was committed to combating illegal mining.
In his view, since it was illegal for anybody to mine in water bodies, the government would stop mining in water bodies immediately.
On the destruction of forest reserves, he said today critical forest reserves had witnessed alarming degradation that had never been seen in the history of the country.
“When I get the chance as a minister, I will deal with these matters expeditiously with the urgency that they deserve,” he said.
As an indigene of a mining community - Ellembele - which had witnessed severe degradation, Mr Buah gave an assurance that illegal mining would be combated all out.
“As a minister, I will stand together with the people of Ghana in the fight against galamsey,” he said.
He indicated that the current government would undertake community engagement in a different way to encourage the people to be part of the fight against illegal mining.
“The current approach will be very genuine and transparent and we will make sure that the community people in areas where mining occurs understand that the destiny of their area is in their hands.
“As the leaders of these areas, we’re going to give them that respect and empower them and give them the support.
We will put it together in cooperatives and make sure we create proper enclaves for mining,” he said.
Mr Buah added that his ministry would also work with the Minerals Commission and Geological Survey to undertake geological investigation to identify "mineralised areas where we can now focus attention in groups”.
