The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR) has debunked reports made by the Daily Post Newspaper and Ghanaweb claiming that the government engages the services of land guards”.
According to GhanaWeb, the Chief Director of MLNR, Prof. Patrick Agbesinyale made the statements.
“It has come to light that the Government of Ghana, through chiefly, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR) has been contracting land guards to claim lands or protect lands from being encroached upon.
More worrying are revelations that even security agencies such as the army and police also use these land guards for various purposes.
In leaked audio, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR), Prof Patrick Agbesinyale at a Parliamentary Committee meeting held on 10th July 2023, revealed that the government was hiding behind land guards to claim lands to avoid the controversy and criticism that arise when it uses the police or army, adding that attempts to take over lands by land guards have led to the death of people”, a portion of the story on GhanaWeb indicated.
Meanwhile, a press release by the ministry has downplayed the allegations.
“The ministry would like to set the records straight that government and for that matter the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources does not contract the services of land guards in its operations”
The press statement revealed that” the ministry through its agency, the lands commission legally engaged the services of Aynok Holding Limited, a registered limited liability company to assist in reclaiming encroached government lands in 2012″
The ministry also emphasized that it employs legal processes to reclaim all encroached state lands.
Below is the statement
