Stephen Ashitey Adjei
The Secretary of the Tema Sakumor Shrine, Stephen Ashitey Adjei, has stated that the increasing sale of lands at Tema Manhean is becoming a serious existential threat to the indigenous people.
As a result, he has petitioned Parliament to intervene in the alleged indiscriminate selling of land by the Tema Traditional Council.
Mr. Adjei, also known as Moshake, claimed in a petition to the Speaker that the development is causing a lot of fear and tension among the youth.
He wants Parliament to help the government stop traditional authority from selling land, saying, “If we don’t stop them, we risk losing everything. The indigenous people will not have access to private or public lands.”
The traditional authorities, according to him, are pursuing a parcel of land left to him and his brother by his late father, Akuerteh Ashitey Nyemi.
Mr. Adjei claimed in the petition that an informant had told him some members of the TDC had collected monies from some individuals with the view to sell the land to them.
He explained that he and his family had occupied this land in question, which is located close to the St. Peter’s Catholic Church at Tema Manhean, for close to 50 years.
Tema Sakumor Shrine Secretary said despite the fact that these lands are being sold to oil refinery companies and others, the youth face unemployment, noting that the Tema city hosts the country’s premier industrial hub.
According to him, while these issues are brewing, most Tema elders have remained silent and turned their backs on them since they are complicit in the “crimes” that threaten Tema’s very existence.
He said for instance that the youth were not happy with the citing of Sentuo Oil Refinery Company because it is close to settlements.
He appealed to Speaker Alban S.K. Bagbin set up a committee to investigate the illegal sale of Tema lands, adding that those behind the land sales have also hijacked the many public toilets donated by VALCO.
The Tema Sakumor Shrine Secretary said a year after Kwame Nkrumah became the first Prime Minister of what was then the British colony of the Gold Coast (now Ghana), the decision was made in 1952 to create a brand new harbour as part of the ambitious Volta River Project.
For him, the English office of Maxwell Fry, Jane Drew, and Denys Lasdun was hired to move Tema, a small fishing village that stood in the way of the new development.
Although there was a plan to build an entirely new city on the location of the demolished village, it was decided that the villagers would not be included in this new city. Instead, a separate settlement (Tema Manhean) was built so that the peasants could retain their identity while improving their living conditions, he recalled.
A Daily Guide Report