Do not sell stool lands - Administrator

Aperade (E/R), Jan. 11, GNA - The Eastern Regional Administrator of Stool Lands (OASL), Mr. Osafo Osei, has said stool lands were not for sale but for lease at two Ghana Cedis (20,000 cedis) per acre per year. He appealed to sub-chiefs to desist from hiding behind their subordinates, especially farm labourers, to sell land or collect land revenue without paying the monies to the landowners who are the substantive chiefs.

Mr. Osei was addressing a durbar of the chiefs and people of Akim Aperade in the Birim South District to climax their "Kwakwaduam" festival. He said the regional OASL was responsible for the management of stool lands in both the Eastern and Volta regions and appealed to chiefs to give indentures to occupants of their lands to help ensure peace. Mr Osei said Aperade had a vast area of stool land and could have been very rich from its land revenue but for the refusal of the occupants, mostly visitors, to pay their rents.

Nana Owusu Twum Barimah, Chief of Aperade, called on stool elders, sub-chiefs and people who had cases before the law courts as a result of land litigations and petty squabbles to discontinue with the court process and refer them to him.

He said he was prepared to pay the cost of withdrawing such cases. "As one people with a common destiny, we need peace and unity to ensure uninterrupted implementation of development projects." Nana Owusu appealed to all occupants of Aperade stool lands to ensure prompt payments of their levies and royalties and expressed concern about the alarming rate at which the forests were being depleted by some chain sewn operators.

He appealed to the government to provide the area with basic economic infrastructure such as good roads, water and hospital to make life more meaningful in those areas. Nana Antwi Twum Barimah, Nkosuohene of Aperade, donated children's dresses and cream valued at about 2,000 Ghana Cedis (20 million cedis) to the Aperade Clinic. Nana Owusu Twum Barimah is building a guesthouse for the town.