Documents in possession of Ghenvironment.com revealed that, the land by the Parks and Gardens in Accra which is currently under litigation was allocated and certified on 2nd October 1952. Located at Cantonments in Accra, the land covering 10.8 acres was acquired for the Ministry of Agriculture for Horticultural purposes and later allocated to the Ministry of Parks and Gardens in the early 60s. Dispute arose over the land last week following a claim by a private developer identified as Rev Dr Ezekiel that he was a trustee of the land. Reports indicate that some containers were erected on the site by Dr Ezekiel. However, attempts to dismantle them by the workers of the Parks and Gardens were met with resistance from the alleged landguards. “I am the trustee, so all I have to do is to protect the interest of the owners, the beneficiaries. So why is it that parks and gardens have now come in? For your information Parks and Gardens have been sent to court on that very piece of land and what they are doing is contemptuous. “I am getting those facts, and I will cite them for contempt. [The land] is two and a half plus acres…It shouldn’t be more than three”, Dr Ezekiel said in a media interview. Acting National Director of Parks and Gardens, Daniel K Adams however expressed shock over the claim by the private developer. “We are shocked. This land was given to us by Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah ever since the department was established in 1961 and we are surprised that a private individual is claiming ownership of the land”, he told Class Fm News. He said, the matter has been reported to the Cantonment Police and they are ready to settle the matter in court to protect the state land. “I don’t know what is happening in this country whereby government land can be taken by anybody anyhow, how can you take Parks and Gardens Land given to us in 1961, so what we are going to do is that, they should take their container from the land and we are going to develop the place into an event centre to generate more money for government”, he said.
Don’t make mockery of the Green Ghana Initiative
Environmental group, the Eco-Conscious Citizens says, Parks and Gardens land is a green space that cannot be leased to developers for apartment blocks or multi storey office buildings. “We should not make a mockery of the Green Ghana Initiative and the Sustainable Development Goals by purporting to lease green spaces to developers and destroying our greenery with one hand and with the other hand purporting to engage in tree planting”, said Awulah Serwaa, founder of the Eco-Conscious Citizens in a statement. Meanwhile, the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority ( LUPSA) has stated that Parks and Gardens uses the land to nurse seedlings and to cultivate other tree species for Government and other relevant institutions and the general public, and for planting and beautification of the city of Accra, and that it should remain a public green space.