No Lands in Gadangbe

In response to the Minister for Works and Housing (Hon. Albert Abongo) unfortunate statement on Citi FM morning show on 15th December 2009 regarding Government’s intention to give some Koreans “Free Land” in parts of the country (Not GaDangme Area).

We believe that if it is a Cabinet decision that would constitute a breach of trust and an affront/betrayal to GaDangmes and other Ghanaians who believed in the manifesto pledge to return our Lands to us but NOT to Koreans. The sad part of his statement is that the houses which will be put up in Accra will be Executive Houses. What is the difference between this “Abongo Houses” and the Ghana@50 houses?

The Abongo Housing project is essentially a private venture by a private firm, Home Finance Company (HFC) and Not State Housing Corporation. Hence compulsorily acquired Lands cannot have the purpose of acquisition changed to benefit some Corrupt Individuals, Businessmen, Politicians and their Korean Cronies to the detriment of the real owners. We want to point out to the Korean Government that what we need in Accra is REGENERATION of Social Housing and not executive Houses. The lands in question are for FARMING purposes and must be used to support the President’s State Farms and the Youth-in-Agric programmes not a potentially corrupt-laden housing scheme.

This we believe will be worse than the “Looting Brigade” we have experienced with past Governments. We have noted with Great Shock the arbitrariness in the earlier “return” of GaDangme Lands, which did not take into account the major stakeholders thus running into difficulties and therefore truncated the process amidst violence.

We are again surprised by government’s inability to correct the ungazetted re-naming of the Accra Sports Stadium. We have learnt with shock the expose by an Accra based radio station Joy FM, when the spokesperson for the Vice President said the WIFE had been allocated a state property in Accra for her personal NGO, which was not part of the government promises during the campaign and also we the electorate did not vote for and NOW this?

1. We thus call on Vice President John Mahama to give a full disclosure to the fine details as to I. When this State property was allocated II. How much was paid for it III. Reason for allocation

We call on Vice President John Mahama to advice her wife to vacate the property immediately, go and rent her own office for the NGO, because we the GaDangmes are not going to benefit from her Parochial Interest.

We believe that our silence MUST NOT be misconstrued as consent. We objected to the previous Government’s actions and we were hoping that this Government (NDC) would have done better as their slogan goes. We believe that we have given enough time and space for things to be done properly, BUT we have been compelled under these unfortunate circumstances to serve Notice of our abhorrence to this attitude of Government (NDC) in our affairs.

We demand an explanation for the double standards of the Government: And call on the President to rethink these Decisions before we strike. We are committed to fight, this time even harder than ever before until the proper thing is done.

All the same we wish to laud the Government for initiating policy of using the L1 as medium of instruction at the lower primary. Yet again, we wish to state that we shall abhor the use of any language but Ga and Dangme within GaDangme Region.

God bless Ghana, God bless GaDangme For and on behalf of GaDangme Youth Association

Nii Marma Marquaye Vice President