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Catholic bishops unhappy over high rate of land grabbing

In a communiqué issued by the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference at the end of their annual plenary assembly held in Tamale in the Northern Region lamented the rate at which multinational companies indiscriminately acquire lands leading to displacement of occupants.

This was contained in a communiqué issued by the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference at the end of their annual plenary assembly held in Tamale in the Northern Region.

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Land grabbing is the contentious issue of large-scale land acquisitions; the buying or leasing of large pieces of land in developing countries, by domestic and transnational companies, governments, and individuals.

According to a 2008 report by Thomson Reuters Foundation 100,000 hectares(ha) of Mali’s fertile land, was handed to Libyan investors in a 50- year renewable lease with no discussion about the impact on impoverished communities, who had farmed this land for generations (over 800 years).

This often leads to displacement as very often the land was being occupied by some people before it got sold.

In recent times people have been killed in Ghana over land disputes. Most multinational firms in the quest to stop renting office spaces that they find expensive would rather acquire lands for construction. This is thought to be cost-efficient in the long-run.

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The Bishops’ Conference called on all key stakeholders to play their roles to help fight this menace.

The communiqué also lamented the level of environmental pollution currently in the country.

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It recommended that Ghanaians take clean-up activities of the National Sanitation Day seriously to help keep Ghana clean.

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