The Minority in Parliament have raised concerns over the alleged involvement of the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police Service in hiring a land guard to protect their lands.
According to the Deputy Ranking Member on the Lands and Forestry Committee of Parliament, Alhassan Suhuyini, the practice is unacceptable and a direct affront to the institutions mandated to safeguard lives and property.
This comes after a viral leaked audio intercepted by newsalertgh.com captures a voice purporting to be that of the Chief Director of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Prof Patrick Agbesinyale, admitting that the Ministry, the police and the military have secured the services of land guards to reclaim their encroached lands.
Speaking during a media briefing in Parliament on Monday, July 17, 2023, the Tamale North MP criticized the government’s lack of commitment to addressing the issue of land guards. He emphasized that if the institutions responsible for protecting lives and property cannot secure their own lands, ordinary citizens are left vulnerable.
“One would have thought that with the passage of this law to outlaw land guards, our land tenure system would have been sanitized, and we would have all been hopeful that acquiring land will no longer be a matter of life and death and so it came to us as a surprise that the Ministry has resorted to contracting a land guard to protect government lands.”
“The other shocking revelation according to the Chief Director is that even the Ghana Armed Forces and the Police use this same land guard to protect their lands. So, if the military and the police cannot protect their own lands and have to resort to the use of a land guard, then what will be the fate of the common Ghanaian who wants to acquire land and is faced with land guards?”
“What was again scandalous by the Chief Directors’ revelation is that this particular land guard has a set-up the state cannot compete,” he said.
Suhuyini called for a thorough investigation into the activities of the notorious land guard known as ‘Gyato,’ whose alleged actions have reportedly resulted in deaths.
He expressed surprise that the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources had resorted to contracting a land guard to protect government-owned lands, despite the passage of laws to outlaw land guard activities.
The Chief Director of the Ministry, Prof Patrick Agbesinyale, had earlier disclosed in the leaked audio that even the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police Service had engaged the services of ‘Gyato’ to reclaim their encroached lands. According to Prof Agbesinyale, the security agencies would allocate portions of the reclaimed lands to the land guard as compensation for his work. He further revealed that ‘Gyato’ carried out similar activities on behalf of the government.
The Chief Director explained that the decision to involve a land guard instead of utilizing the police or military was made to avoid public backlash. He acknowledged the negative reactions and criticism that often accompany the government’s attempts to reclaim lands, hence the strategy of employing a land guard to operate discreetly on their behalf.
The revelations made by Prof Agbesinyale shocked the Minority MPs, as they highlighted the extent of the land guard’s influence and involvement. The land guard reportedly has a system in place that outmatches the state’s resources.
