La Traditional Council expresses worry over the use of lands

Accra, Sept. 7, GNA - Members of the La Traditional Council on Thursday expressed concern about how their lands acquired by the State were being managed without regard to their allodia interest. They further expressed displeasure that some lands acquired by the State for particular purposes were being used for other purposes without any direct benefit to the indigenes of the traditional area.

Members of the Council led by the La Dzaatse (Chief Kingmaker) Nii Odotei Adjei and Mr Henry Anum Amah, Vice-Chairman of the La Traditional Council Land Committee, were speaking during a visit to the site of the La Wireless Project, which had been acquired by the State since 1948. According to Mr Amah that portion of land, popularly known as La Wireless, was originally acquired by the State to set up an area communication system.

"But our visit today has revealed that the land is rather serving another purpose altogether without our knowledge.=94 Nii Adjei called the visit a "fact-finding mission" to ascertain a rumour heard by the Council that some private people were developing that very land.

He said the Council was informed that an alleged traditional authority had come to the site to perform traditional rights. That authority, he said, was an impostor since it did not belong to the La Council.

However, during the visit, it was revealed that the State was actually developing the land into residential accommodation as part of preparation towards the Ghana at 50 celebrations, scheduled for next year.

Mr Raphael Kofi Boateng, Project Manager of Commons Development Limited, one of the many construction firms found busily building the houses, told the Council that they started work last week after signing the contract at the Castle some two weeks ago.

He said his firm had been charged to construct only 15 units one storey building, which should be completed by the end of December this year.

Mr Boateng, therefore, urged the Council to go back and clarify any issue with the appropriate quarters since the various contractors were just doing their legitimate jobs.

During the visit the various contractors were found feverishly working on the projects with some of the buildings just at foundation level, while others were at lintel level and some above lintel level. Nii Adjei said the Council would go back and call an emergency meeting to decide on the next course of action.

In a related development, Mr Prince Derrick Adjei, Former President of the Ga Dangme Youth, appealed to the State to amend the Protection Purchase Act 1960, Act 2 which gave the right to anyone who builds on any land within the Greater Accra Region to take over the land if the building had reached lintel level.

He said that Act was discriminatory against the people of GaDangme adding, that law was not applicable to any part of the country except the Gas. 7 Sept. 06