Member of Parliament for Tamale North Constituency, Alhassan Suhuyini, says Ghana is no longer safe if the government engages the services of a known land guard to protect and reclaim its lands.
The ranking member of the Lands and Forestry Committee of Parliament on Good Morning Ghana on Metro TV on Friday, July 21, slammed the Chief Director of the Ministry of Lands, Prof. Patrick Agbesinyale over his conflicting claims of the ministry’s hiring of land guard services
According to the Tamale North MP, the Lands and Forestry Committee of Parliament met the Lands Commission on July 10 and were shocked to hear Prof. Agbesinyale say the ministry had a contract with a gentleman who goes by the Clement Dzato.
He disclosed that the said Clement Dzato had a whole setup of media, people in the judiciary, and security services that helped the government retrieve and reclaim lost lands that have been encroached upon.
He noted Mr. Dzato sits with the “government to disclose the cost he has incurred in the reclamation process for which government sometimes in one particular case compensates him with parcels of land.”
“Per basic research, the said Clement Dzato has been reported in the news of land guards and hence the members of the committee were shocked to know that the government claimed to have had a contract with him,” Suhiyini stated
The NDC MP added that Prof. Agbesinyale also disclosed to the committee that the Police and Ghana Armed Forces depend on Clement Dzato to protect their lands, contrary to the Armed Forces’ claim they have no agreement with any individual of such nature.
Suhiyini expressed his worry about the safety of our lands and the country’s security apparatus.
“If the state did not have the capacity to protect its land and an individual is that powerful for the state to depend on that individual then, we are not really safe,” he expressed.
Alhassan Suhuyini further intimated that the Ministry in 2019 refuted claims it had employed Clement Dzato to undertake any activities but had a contract with Messrs Aynok Holdings Limited since 2012.
This company, the Tamale North MP, however, says was registered in 2014 with Clement Dzato as the Director, and as part of the company’s services they provide Land guard duties — a service which is illegal in Ghana.
Meanwhile, Prof. Agbesinyale has denied reports that he said the police and military hired a land guard to reclaim and protect government lands, in violation of the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act.
Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, Prof. Patrick Agbesinyale rejected the assertions and stated that he objects to the allegations leveled against him.
He claims the charges are false and do not reflect his comments to the Lands and Forestry Committee.
“I think land guard unfortunately is a terminology that all of us don’t want to be associated with, at least we know what land guards are. They are illegal entities that operate and engage in all forms of criminal activities, I can’t imagine saying government uses land guards,” Prof. Agbesinyale noted.
By: Akua Karle Okyere | Metrotvonline.com | Ghana
