Aerial view of the affected houses
About 1,000 houses at Hwereso-Deduako in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality of the Ashanti Region have reportedly been marked for demolition.
The Ghana Free Zones Authority (GFZA), which is behind the intended demolition of the houses, indicated that the property-owners encroached on its lands.
Officials of the GFZA were said to have served notice to the owners of the affected houses sometime in 2019 about the planned action.
Over 500 of the affected houses were completed years ago and currently being occupied.
Saddened by the development, the affected house owners, at a news conference on Monday, November 23, 2020, passionately appealed to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and President Akufo-Addo to intervene.
“We are pleading with the Manhyia Palace, the seat of Asantehene, the overlord of all lands in the Ashanti Region, to please take out that stretch of the land from the lands that have been allocated to GFZA,” they appealed.
The group specifically wants the GFZA to consider sparing the over 500 houses which have already been completed and occupied.
In his succinct remarks, Emmanuel Owusu, secretary to the group of affected house owners, claimed that they acquired the parcels of land from the Ejisu Stool Lands Secretariat, which assured them that the lands belonged to no person or organisation.
But Mr. Owusu said sometime in 2012, some of the landlords received information that the lands belonged to GFZA, and when they contacted both the Lands Commission and the Ejisu Stool Lands Secretariat, they denied ownership of the lands by GFZA.
He said with the assurance from Nana Afrane Okese, the then Ejisumanhene, and the Lands Commission, they continued building their houses.
According to him, a few months later, the Ejisu chief allegedly ordered the discontinuation of every form of construction works on the said lands as the lands had been allocated to the GFZA.
Mr. Owusu said the majority of the affected house owners that took bank loans to build the houses cannot stand the risk of seeing their property destroyed or being arraigned for their inability to pay back the loans.
They pledged their willingness and readiness to sit down with the management of the Ghana Free Zones Authority and other stakeholders for amicable settlement.
FROM David Afum, Kumasi