Government has no plans to sell Achimota Forest
Achimota Forest to become tourist site
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has stated that government is making plans to make Achimota Forest a world-class asset.
The Minister noted that reports that the Achimota Forest has been sold were false.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, May 17, Samuel Abu Jinapor emphasized that the government had no plans of selling the Forest.
According to him, the government “intends to enrich the Achimota forest, revamp it and hopefully in the not too distant future, transform it into the likes of High Park of London and Central Park of New York, where Ghanaians can go and enjoy the beauty of nature and forest reserve as it happens in other parts of the world”.
“So, for the avoidance of doubt, neither President Akufo-Addo nor myself nor his government intends to sell the Achimota forest or redevelop the Achimota forest as currently constituted,” he said.
An eight-page document has been widely circulated on social media, purporting to say that classification of the Achimota Forest Reserve has been lifted to pave way for a possible redevelopment for other purposes.
“The Executive Instrument gazetted on behalf of President Akufo-Addo by the Lands Minister Samuel Abdulai Jinapor stipulated that effective May 1, 2022, the land on which the Forest is located shall cease to be a forest reserve, pursuant to Section 19 of the Forest Act, 1927 (CAP. 157)”
According to the document, President Akufo-Addo had ordered the creation of a master plan for the development of the land by the District Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority.
Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor