The no-nonsense Minister of Lands, Environment and Country Planning, Dr Denis Sandy and a high powered ministry delegation headed by the Director of Lands, Mr. Banya, on Friday August 24th 2018 visited Tombo, Yams Farm and Orugu communities in the Western Rural district.

The visit was in response to strident calls from community residents over the escalating spate of land grabbing carried out by unscrupulous local authorities, politicians and influential and ordinary citizens, allegedly, in connivance with Lands ministry officials.

Dr Sandy who is determined to instill discipline, transparency and accountability into the administration and management of the country’s unregulated lands sector told the communities that his series of on-the-spot visits is due to consultative meetings held with land stakeholders, tribal heads and residents of communities in the western urban and rural districts.

He said the ‘New Direction’ Government is determined to reclaim all expropriated state lands, as well as give back to legitimate owners their lands that have been illegally acquired by others as a step towards discouraging land grabbing as he promised four months ago to stakeholders at the Miatta Conference hall meeting.

Director of Lands, Mr. Banya, assured the people that his Ministry, unlike before, is going through a reformation phase within which all those that have legal documents for land can be guaranteed of repossession.

At the Orugu community in Upper Allen Town, the headwoman, Madam Ayodele Dixon, told the ministry delegation of the atrocities that she and community stakeholders have endured at the hands of politicians, land grabbers and ministry officials over land grabbing that has left the community with no available space for a market, community center, health center and worst of all a cemetery.

She disclosed that she was the first community leader to write to the minister to undertake such verification exercise; stating that she and her community have all the relevant documents supporting their claim of land grabbing.