The Sunyani Of-Land Farmers Association at the weekend appealed to the government to repeal Executive Instrument (EI46), which vests in the President all lands in the Sunyani District in trust for the people.
In a petition to President John Agyekum Kufuor signed by the executive and other members, the association said it was time the measure was taken “to enable the subjects and other landowners to have their lands”.
“This has become necessary because land management in Sunyani as handled by the Lands Commission is tainted with fraud and corrupt practices,” it said.
The petitioners cited a parcel of land acquired by the government for the construction of police barracks but which has been encroached upon by the Lands Commission and allocated to some individuals.
“The practice adopted by the Lands Commission as well as the application of the said law is against the principles of equity, fairness and good conscience,” the association said, and wondered why lands are taken from their traditional owners without paying any compensation.
The statement mentioned a recent meeting between the Regional Lands Officer and the farmers regarding the demarcation of the land at Baakoniaba West in the district and said the 2.5 million cedis that the Commission promised to pay each landowner in that area was “meagre and not acceptable”.
“The Lands Commission has cheated us for a very long time,” the association added, and called for a probe into the administration of lands in Sunyani.
“We are of age and capable of managing our own lands and in this era of positive change we are calling for the repeal of the said law so that our lands are reversed to us as we cannot be strangers on our own ancestral land.”
