Occupy Ghana petitions RTI Commission for info on relinquished public lands

Pressure Group, OccupyGhana has petitioned the Right to Information Commission demanding the latter to order the Lands Commission to provide to it among others, a list of all public lands relinquished and names of the beneficiaries.

The group also wants to know the respective sizes and locations of all such lands.

In a letter dated September 20, 2022, the group notes that it requested from the lands Commission on June 2, 2022, an inventory of all public lands alleged to have returned to their original owners since the coming into force of the Constitution, 1992.

Unfortunately, it states that the Lands Commission is using conceivable tricks to frustrate their constitutional rights guaranteed by Articles 21 and 36(8) of the Constitution, 1992.

The letter adds that the most recent excuse which gives them a lot of cause for concern is the claim by the Commission that it requires the advice of the Attorney General on the request per the Data Protection and the Right to Information Act.

OccupyGhana however indicates that it has responded to the excuses and explained why the Commission has absolutely no legal basis to deny or delay its right to seek such information.

It is in the light of the above that it has petitioned the Right to Information Commission to exercise its powers on the Commission to release to the group also;

The conditions of release of the lands whether free, sale, lease, or license

Also if the land has been leased, the amount of rent paid or payable; and

Any other amounts paid to or received by the government, if any, for each such transaction.      

Background

OccupyGhana notes that It is a notorious fact that some public lands have allegedly been returned to the original owners in purported compliance with articles 20(5) and (6) of the Constitution, contrary to Supreme Court decisions that those provisions do not apply to lands acquired before the Constitution came into force.

Further, OccupyGhana’s checks with both the Lands Ministry and Lands Commission have confirmed that contrary to article 258(2), no government policy authorizes these alleged returns of lands to purported original owners. 

This would raise serious constitutional questions over the propriety of the alleged return of lands, since the Lands Commission, acting alone, has no power to treat the trust property of all Ghanaians in this manner by purporting to return such lands to alleged original owners. 

This also raises serious constitutional issues as to whether or not the Lands Commission is in breach of its constitutionality-imposed fiduciary and accountability duties.