Traditional rulers in Manhean, a suburb of Amasaman in the Ga West municipality of the Greater Accra region, have registered their dissatisfaction with previous and current governments for placing an embargo on their 4,964-acre land.
According to the Odikro of Manhean Denmletey, Nii Saki Akumea Oshishibrishi l, the 4,964-acre land was acquired by then-former president Ignatius Kutu Acheampong from people of Manhean in February 1977, purposely for water works projects.
He noted that an agreement was reached during the acquisition of the said land, and the two parties, being the government and Nii Kwaku Datre Royal family of Manhean, agreed on compensation to the allodial owners, but 45 years down the line no compensation has been paid hence the call.
The most painful aspect of the issue, he stated was that, the government has abandoned the said portion of land indicating that, it is no more useful to the waterworks projects.
This, according to him, has paved way for the people of Ashalaja to encroach on the land.
Nii Saki Akumea Oshishibrishi l has however appealed to the government through the minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, to as a matter of urgency intervene and put proper measures in place to lift the embargo from the piece of land in his enclave.
“If you have taken our land and you haven’t paid us, then we are reclaiming our land. If for the reason you have come for the land you cannot use it, then leave our land to us. So we have given the land to a man by the name Kingsford who is an estate developer to develop it because we have waited for so long without any feedback from the government,” he said during a press conference today at Manhean.
Meanwhile, Kingsford Takyi Yankson being the Managing Director of Unikings Estate, who has been given a power of attorney from the Nii Kwaku Datre Royal family to protect the land from encroachers, has debunked allegations being levelled against him that he has demolished fence walls protecting the land for the waterworks project.
“I haven’t demolished any wall. It is the Ashalaja residents who are demolishing them. I rather arrested them and handed them over to the Amasaman Police Division. I later pursued a case at the headquarters and the records are available. I have currently a case at the district and circuit court.”
Mr Kingsford further stated that it is a calculated attempt by the people of Ashalaja to tarnish his hard-earned reputation gained over the years because the said wall was pulled down by a section of people in Ashalaja and he Mr Kingsford apprehended them and handed them over to the Amasaman Police Command.
He thus has called on the government to listen to their plea and solve the problem because the situation is seriously affecting the social economic development of the area.
