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The Office of the President has reacted to the multiple reportages that the Achimota Forest reserve has allegedly been sold off.

Commenting on the issue in a social media post, Director of Communications at the Presidency, Mr Eugene Arhin shared a 2018 quote from President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during the celebration of World Press Freedom Day Awards Dinner.

In the said quote, the president cautioned against the growing trend of misinformation by the mainstream media.

According to him, misinformation leaves everyone to race down the bottom as a result of the twisting of facts.

“The second risk we have to guard against is that of inadvertent misinformation, that is sometimes published by mainstream media, which also has the potential to lead us all in a race to the bottom.

“This happens when there is a little twist of facts often to get the best headline or a publication of the unverified claim in the haste to be first in breaking the news.

“The worrying trend is that, in many cases, even after the public has been misinformed, and the true facts are later made known, mainstream media often chickens out of an honest open acknowledgement that “we erred”.

“The choice is often to sweep it under the carpet, and move on to the next big story,” President Akufo said.

Background

Social media platforms particularly Twitter had ‘Achimota Forest’ trending number one after an Executive Instrument (E.I) about the Achimota Forest Reserve went viral.

In the said E.I 144, a portion of the Achimota Forest under the command of President Nana Akufo-Addo is declared as ceased from being recognized as a forest reserve effective May 1, 2022.

It also details that District Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority must prepare a master plan for the development of the land and submit it to the Lands Minister for approval.

Again the District Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority have been tasked to into consideration the protection of the ecological integrity of an adjoining forest reserve while preparing the master plan.

Meanwhile, Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Samuel Abu Jinapor has dismissed claims that the Achimota Forest has been sold off.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Mr Jinapor said that the “Achimota Forest has not and will not be sold”.