The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has dismissed allegations that the sector Minister, Samuel Abu Jinapor, provided misleading information to Parliament regarding the status of Ghana’s forest reserves. 

In a statement to the public on Friday, September 13, the Ministry described these claims as false and urged Ghanaians to disregard them.

The allegations, which have been circulating in some media outlets, suggest that Abu Jinapor offered half-truths during a recent parliamentary session concerning activities in the country’s forest reserves.

The Ministry refuted these accusations, emphasising that the Minister has consistently provided accurate and transparent information about the state of the reserves.

According to the Ministry, all updates given by the Minister are based on verified data and ongoing assessments of the nation’s forest cover. 

The Ministry noted that it remains committed to the protection of Ghana's natural resources and is actively working to address issues such as deforestation and illegal mining within forest reserves.

The statement also reassured the public that the Ministry is focused on delivering on its mandate to preserve the country’s forests through sustainable management practices. 

It called on Ghanaians to trust the processes in place and to disregard any attempts to undermine the work of the Ministry and its leadership.

"The attention of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has been drawn to a publication by the Fourth Estate with the above headline in respect of an answer given by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor, to a question posed to him in Parliament. The said publication contains a lot of falsehoods and misinformation."

"Given the respect and the high regard the Hon. Minister, who is, also, a Member of Parliament, has for the august House of Parliament, the Ministry finds the allegations that the Hon. Minister was not being truthful to Parliament as very serious and rather unfortunate," the statement said.