Ga Lands Saga III, Another Claimant Emerging

But E. B. Tibboh & Mantse Ankrah Families Brace Up For A Showdown
… ‘Prove Your Case, We Are Ready’

The controversy surrounding who really owns the Ga Lands continues unabated with interesting revelations; this time another claimant, the Akwamus, is popping up laying claim to the said lands.

Meanwhile, the families of T. B. Tibboh and the Mantse Ankrah have thrown a challenge to any person, groups of persons, family or organization who think the Ga lands belong to them to come out with all the necessary documents backing their claims, as they (Tibboh and Mantse Ankrah families) are doing.

The Moment has published stories in relation to the ownership of the Ga lands. However, reports are that the Akwamus are also expressing interest in fighting over the landed properties that are currently in contention.

However, speaking to the Stool Secretary of the Tibboh family, Mr. William Nartey, he indicated the two families’ readiness to welcome any such battle from any family that is ready to lay claim to their properties.

According to him, the Tibboh and Mantse Ankrah families have made their documents public by publishing most of them on the internet for the general public to know, adding that if the said family is also ready to prove their case then they should be prepared to tender in all relevant documents which he believes can be contested in the court of law.

“Even if, we have to take the fight to court, we are ready to meet them. What I can say to that family is that, they should make their documents available if indeed the Ga lands that we are fighting for belongs to them as they are claiming,” he said.

This paper has also gathered on its fact finding mission that, in 1929 the then government acquired 327 acres of land belonging to the late E. B. Tibboh. Even though compensation meetings were held and various amounts were fixed, no compensation was paid to the said family.

Interestingly, the situation continued and this had caused lots of embarrassment and hardships to the late E. B. Tibboh until his untimely death.

The lands, which according to our checks were taken over by government without paying a pesewa as compensation to the family, stretch from Ridge, Cantonment and Airport, to Aburi. Meanwhile, through the fraudulent means by which government acquired these landed properties, the descendants of the late Tibboh have been deprived of their properties and majority of them are now squatters on their own lands.

Another development is that in 1956, government acquired 242.68 acres of land from the Mantse Ankrah family for industrial purposes, whilst the adjourning land, now known as the South Industrial Area was not part of the said acquisition; it appears government has taken over that portion as well.

Facts are that Lands Commission has over the years, illegally granted leases on these lands to people for various purposes, leading to the deprivation of the family off their heritage and resources.

It is indicative of the fact that, the Mantse Ankrah family has over the years, utilized several interventions and avenues to get the Lands Commission to put a stop to their nefarious activities, the Commission has not pay heed to this caution, probably due to the vested interest of some individuals within the Commission.

This paper has gathered that till today, the Lands Commission has granted, illegally over 300 acres of lands in leases to individuals, government officials and organizations. It is however unclear whether government will be in the position to pay compensations over the lands for the period it took possession of them, and later release the lands to the rightful owners.

Many people who spoke to this paper on the matter believe that government is going to have a tough time in addressing the issue. Some major companies in Accra may have a tough time in the coming year as they have to battle these customary land owners in the courts regarding their permit to establish their businesses on those lands. This apparently would affect their strategic direction in 2012.

Half way through 2011, the Mantse Ankrah family, the customary owners of large tracts of land in Ghana’s capital Accra, having long suffered expropriation of their lands under colonial British and post-colonial Ghana governments, awoke and decided to sit up and take long-delayed action to protect their patrimony.

New evidence of some improprieties in the seizure and re-allocation of their ancestral property quickened them into a more assertive posture. Their quest for the truth to be established and justice to be done has been compelled by the Mantse Ankrah’s sense of dedication to the family heritage as well as the government’s new policy, pursuant to relevant sections of the Constitution, and the announcement of its willingness to release unused lands to original owners.

Meanwhile, as the heat intensifies, there has been uneasy calm at the Lands Commission leading to an abrupt seizure of land sale activities. The Commission has thus discontinued processing of allocations in respect of residential In-filling and redevelopment schemes, saying it will continue to consider requests from state/public institutions and diplomatic missions as well as other corporate bodies as and when necessary.

The Commission has however, decided that allottees who have made full payments were to be allowed to take their leases and continue to liaise with the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing (who are responsible for managing Government bungalows) to grant allottees access to their plots.

“In all cases, no allocation was approved in respect of people who had previously been given government plots in the same Metropolis,” the commission said.

It said major challenges that confront the schemes are; the inability of some allottees to have access to their plots; threats of legal actions against the Lands Commission in view of the inability of allottees to gain access; and the difficulty in refunding monies paid into the Consolidated Fund.**