Private Developers Not Constructing Office Complex On Parks and Gardens Land - Minister

By Cliff Ekuful

Government has refuted claims that portions of land belonging to the Department of Parks and Gardens (DPG) have been released to a private developer to construct a multi-purpose complex for its use.

According to the Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Mr Osei Bonsu government had not entered into any Public Private Partnership (PPP) agreement with any entity to develop the land at the headquarters of DPG for residential use or office complex.

Speaking at the bi-weekly media briefing organised by the Ministry of Information, in Accra yesterday, he said even though attempts were made to give parts of that land to a private developer to develop the area for residential purposes government was not interested in the deal.

He said the deal was in consideration for the private developer to put up a multi-purpose office complex for the department.

"As a result of that by November 29, 2016, 2.2acres of PDG land had been leased by the Lands Commission to the private developer ostensibly for them to also be able to build the office," he added.

Mr Bonsu said as part of the lease agreement, they were given 18 months to develop the area; however, they failed to do so.

He said the matter was referred to the Attorney General for advice to ensure that no private developer goes to the land, adding that "the government had decided that it would develop the office complex for the department by itself."

Mr Bonsu explained that the current development taking place there was the initiative of the government and not a private developer.

He noted that it was not accurate that more than 140 trees and 5000 flowers as well as ornamental plants were destroyed.

The Minister said, before the land was cleared, all the flowers and nurseries were evacuated to ensure that they were preserved.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has welcomed the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU)'s report on the performance of the government.

He said government saw the release as a feed back on the change agenda and it would continue to work to improve the lots of the citizenry.

"Government assures the good people of this country that it remains committed to fulfilling its campaign promises notably; rebuilding a strong economy, developing and executing strong flagship programmes and transforming various aspects of our national life."

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