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Illegal Land Grabs? NPP Govt Accused of Acquiring Lands for Agricultural Mechanization – ORAL

  • Jan 14, 2025
  • 2 min read

The Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) team has voiced strong concerns about alleged unlawful actions by the previous administration, accusing it of acquiring land meant for the Agricultural Mechanization Center under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture at Cantonments without proper authorization.


ORAL Raises Alarm Over Alleged Illegal Land Acquisition in Cantonments
ORAL Raises Alarm Over Alleged Illegal Land Acquisition in Cantonments

Chairman of ORAL, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, disclosed during a media interview at the site that workers were forcibly evicted from the center, and the facility’s roof was subsequently destroyed. Ablakwa accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government of misleading the workers with promises of redevelopment, which, he claimed, lacked transparency and legitimacy.


Ablakwa pointed out that the government failed to secure the required parliamentary approval for the rezoning and redevelopment of the land, which violates the Land Use and Special Planning Act 95.


“As Members of Parliament, at no point did the government seek our approval. The law is clear—any rezoning requires parliamentary consent. Historically, this land was allocated for agricultural mechanization and an aerodrome. Who authorized its rezoning without proper procedures? Even before the rezoning process could be concluded, large portions of the land were already distributed among private interests,” Ablakwa emphasized.


Daniel Yao Domelevo, another prominent ORAL member, criticized the poor handling of valuable documents belonging to the Agricultural Mechanization Center. He noted that the documents, left exposed to harsh weather conditions after the roof was removed, risk irreversible damage.

“Regulation 153 of the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act mandates that such records be preserved for at least seven years. If a ministry or agency can no longer keep them, they are required to transfer the documents to the National Archives. Instead, we see here a complete lack of responsibility. With the roof removed, the next rainfall could destroy these records permanently. This situation is absolutely unacceptable,” Domelevo stated.


The revelations by ORAL have sparked debate about the management of public resources and the misuse of state lands. The alleged rezoning and distribution of land without parliamentary approval add to the growing calls for greater accountability and transparency in governance.


As investigations continue, the ORAL team has vowed to push for legal action to recover the land and ensure that those responsible for the alleged illegalities are held accountable.


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