Big row over Kasoa market

The Chiefs and Elders of Odupong Ofaakor near Kasoa are bracing themselves up for possible showdown with the authorities of the Awutu-Effutu-Senya District Assembly (AESD) over the ownership of the land on which the New Kasoa Market is located. As a result of their resolve, the Chiefs and Elders have succeeded in securing an injunction against the continuation of the new market project by the Assembly.

The Independent has also learnt that, in view of the inability of the Kasoa police to enforce the injunction, supporters of the Chiefs and Elders of Odupong Ofaakor last Friday invaded the project and seized equipment and items belonging to CORE Construction, the firm undertaking the Phase Two of the project, for infringing on the High Court order.

In the course of the attempts to seize the items and equipment two supporters of the Odupong Chiefs and Elders were arrested and placed in police custody, The Independent has also learnt.

Speaking to The Independent the Chief of Ofaakor, Nai Odupong Awushie Tetteh II, and his Elders said, they had to resort to the court action as a result of blatant disregard of their ownership of the land by the officials of the Assembly.

According to Nai Odupong Awushie Tetteh the Assembly has cheated him for far too long. He cited an instance in 1987 when he single-handedly expanded the Kasoa market and added a lorry park to it only for the Assembly to bring in its revenue collectors to collect market tolls.

This, according to our information, led the Chief to ban the Assembly collectors but later the matter was resolved and the Assembly was allowed to withdraw the money collected by the Chief's agents from the market women, which money was lodged at a bank at Kasoa.

Nai Tetteh Awushie said, after this it was realised that the market needed expansion and together with the Odupong Kpehe Market Retailers Association agreed to construct a new market which led him to earmark 73 acres of land off the Kasoa-Bawjiase road.

He added that the Market Retailers Association started contributing towards the project when out of the blue "we saw the Agricultural Sector Improvement Project (ASIP) now Village Infrastructure Project (VIP) and the Assembly developing same place for a new market complex.

"We were not consulted by any of the institutions developing that parcel of land even though they are well aware that the land has an owner who should be consulted in times like these."

According to Nai Awushie no government official ever got in touch with him "but all I saw was that sheds were being put up on the land but what was even surprising was that I wrote letter upon letters to the Assembly inviting them to come for us to talk about the land but they ignored me.

"This infuriated me" Nai Awushie also said, "and made me write to warn then not to step on the land but they still refused to come for us to talk about the land and it was at this juncture that we threatened court action to restrain them from entering the land."

He said, "after that we were invited to a District Security Council (DISEC) meeting at Winneba in a hostile atmosphere but after this we sent a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to them but they have refused to sign it."

The Chief further pointed out that they have information that even after the Assembly and the contractor had been served with the injunction work is still on-going and regretted the inability of the Kasoa police to stop that.

Present at the interview were Okyeame Kodwo Nai, Nai Otsor Adawu, Asafoatse Duodu Ben, Nicholas Amoashie, Stool Secretary, and; Adawu Larbi, Deputy Stool Secretary.

When The Independent contacted the Awutu-Effutu-Senya District Assembly, Captain (Rtd) Stephen Armah and Mr. G. B. L. Guy Cielo, District Co-ordinating Director said, "the Assembly had begun the process to compulsorily acquire the land in accordance with provisions of Act 462 after which the Assembly will pay compensation to the land owners."

They said the Memorandum of Understanding was being studied in view of its legal implications after which the general Assembly will be summoned to empower the Assembly's officials to sign it. The DCE appealed to the chiefs to exercise restraint, as their demands will be addressed.