Janet Tulasi Mensah
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Ga East Municipal Assembly, Janet Tulasi Mensah, has debunked media reports by some aggrieved persons and Dr. Hassan Ayariga, claiming that last week’s demolishing exercise at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) lands was a witch-hunt targeted at them.
A team of the Ga East assembly and GAEC taskforce including the police on Saturday August 19, 2018, embarked on a demolishing exercise at the GAEC lands which resulted in a near-clash between the encroachers and the operators.
According to her, the assembly, from time to time, embarks on demolition exercises to ensure that developers are compliant with the requirements of the laws on property development as contained in the Local Governance Act, 2016 Act 936, Section 106.
At a press conference held at the assembly on Monday, the MCE indicated that the demolishing exercise was lawful and intended to halt the activities of encroachers as well as curb the impunity with which people are illegally grabbing and developing property on state lands.
“The work of the assembly is guided by law; per the local Governance Act 2016, (Act 936), the assembly is mandated among other functions to as stipulated in section 12, subsection 3(a), (e) and (f) to be responsible for the development of human settlement and environment of the district” she disclosed.
According to her, the encroachers have paid deaf ears to persistent warnings from the GAEC and the assembly’s taskforce, claiming that they had permits to their property.
“Unfortunately, the permits the encroachers held were fake titles indicating that they were forged and that they were never channelled through the assembly”, she revealed.
The MCE stated categorically that the Executive Instrument (EI) 75 1973 that acquired land for GAEC at Haatso and Kwabenya has not been amended but still in force meaning that the GAEC lands are the property of the state. Therefore, the duty of the assembly in collaboration with the legal occupants is to protect them from any form of private development.
By Solomon Ofori