Market Landlord’s Association at Dodowa in the Dangbe West District of the Greater Accra Region have threatened court action to claim their lands from the Assembly following the failure of the Assembly to compensate them over the past 28 years.
This was announced by the Chairperson of the Association Nii Quaye Annan II when he spoke with Ghananewsonline.com.gh an interview. Nii Quaye Annan II, who is the Krontihene of Teshie and the Acting Akwashongtse of Teshie debanked rumours that Ga-Adangbes don’t like development. He said they the landowners have been cheated and neglected for too long hence the need to fight for their inheritance now.
According to him, the Dangbe West District Assembly led by the then District Chief Executive Seth Kpabitey approached the then Chief of Dodowa Nene Tetteh Apperkon II in 1993 to propose a land for use as Dodowa Market. The said lands were not stool lands, rather, individual lands which were without any agreement.
He said the land which was then a virgin land was developed during which block factories, palm plantation, mango trees as well as vegetables farms among others were destroyed without any agreement or compensation to the owners.
“Our fathers through to our generation together with the Chiefs, have since 1996 been approaching the assembly for compensation. Series of letters to them have proved futile, meanwhile the assembly has since 1993 not ceased collecting monies from the market women because they have records of one Anty Abena collecting Ghc50.00 for the allocation of shed on behalf of the assembly. She has again been given some of the lands to traders to sell at the cost of Ghc 500.00 in the name of the Assembly,” Nii further revealed.
Nii Quaye Annan II stressed that the association has also gathered that the assembly through the secretary of the market women association Madam Alice started taking ghc300.00 from the traders with claims that the assembly want to develop the market. “We are well informed they have raised over ten thousand Ghana cedis from the women,” he further alleged.
“We are not happy about the way the assembly has handled and is handling our issues, there is no sign of respect for us, we have exhausted all avenues, we will not hesitate to claim our land at the law court if they fail to heed to our calls two weeks from today.
“Our efforts to engage the District Chief Executives have ended up in story telling as Hon. Daniel Akuffo claims copies of the site plans prepared and handed over to us by the Assembly during the tunure of Hon. Adjoweh as the DCE is missing. This claim is mischievous,” Nii Quaye said.
On his part the senior linguist of dodowa Fredrick Apperkon, who is a member of the Association and also claims to be a direct son of the then Dodowa Chief Nene Tetteh Apperkon II, urged the assembly to be sincere to them as they await their compensation and a fair agreement on the land. He insisted they the landowners association will resist the assembly from developing the market without any compensation and agreement.
Source: William Dei-Gyau
