Agbogbloshie Onion Traders In More Danger As Gov't Relocates them On Disputed Land At Gomoa Dominase

There is a bloody clash looming in Gomoa Dominase, a farming community in the Gomoa East District of the Central Region.

This pending danger, Soireenews gathered, follows what the youth in Gomoa Akyempim Traditional Area consider as an “unlawful” allocation of 100 acres of 115 acres of land belonging to an estate developer, Medium Dwellings Company Limited in Gomoa Dominase by the Paramount Chief of the area, Obrifo Ahunako Ahor Ankobia II to the Agbogloshie onion sellers after their eviction by the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Henry Quartey.

This situation,  Soireenews reporter understands was rather worsening the plight of the thousands of onion traders following the decision of the government through the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Herry Quartey to relocate the traders on the disputed land at Gomoa Dominase.

Interestingly, looking at the life threatened danger of the situation, reports gathered has informed the decision of many top government appointees of Gomoa Akyepim Traditional Area including the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area and Gomoa East, District Executive (DCE) to quickly withdraw themselves from the decision to resettle the traders on the disputed land at Gomoa Dominase.

Speaking to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Medium Dwellings Company Limited, Mr Arkoh Korsah, in an interview, he stated that; l would defend my land l have genuinely bought from the custodian landowners and lawfully registered with the Lands Commission of Ghana with my last drop of blood."

According to estates developer “the new Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036) has come to offer solutions to the numerous challenges facing the acquisition and ownership of lands in the country.”

“The Act, which has already been passed, makes provisions for chiefs, head of clans and families as well as landowners to be criminally liable for up to 10 years imprisonment for actions which negatively affect land acquisition such as indiscriminate deposition of land and multiple sales of land.”
He further said he acquired the 115 acres of land first in 2005 from Nana Sarkwa Boabeng and paid the full amount for the land but shortly thereafter, another family from Gomoa Kwekrom made claims to 38 acres of the land. 

“I was compelled to sit down with the Oyoko family of Gomoa Kwekrom in a joint meeting with the Anona family of Gomoa Dominase represented by Nana Sarkwa Boateng.

"It was in that meeting that I decided to bring matters to rest by paying for the 38 acres of land belonging to the second family. So technically, I have paid twice for 38 acres of the 115 acres,” he stressed.

Mr Korsah added that “the decision of the Omanhene of Gomoa Akwapim Traditional Council was unlawful and could land him in jail. 

"The said land which the chief has unlawfully given out to the government for the building of a market l bought it for an affordable housing development project to address the housing deficit in the country,” he revealed. 

"Even the Gomoa East District Assembly has advised against the decision of the Omanhene. I have all documentary correspondences and legal entitlement to the land and will not sit aloof in silence to endorse this impropriety,” he warned.

Mr Korsah referred to the recent destoolment charges levelled against the Omanhene at the Central Regional House of Chiefs by his Omanhemaa, Kingmakers, Elders, and Divisional Chiefs of the Gomoa Akyempim Traditional Area. 

He said, “I am forced to believe the litany of charges against him because of this reckless decision to unlawfully allocate my land to onion sellers in 2021 when he [Omanhene] sent me a letter in 2008 that the Gomoa Akyempim Traditional Council had no interest in the land during our due diligence before the acquisition of the land. 

"Having worked diligently in the real estate industry for over three (3) decades, I can confidently say that the Omanhene lacks vision. There’s nothing wrong with hosting the onion sellers but not on my land which was paid for with hard-earned cash and gone through the tedious process of government approvals over the years.”

Several efforts by the paper to reach the Omanhemaa to comment on the issue has so far proved futile.
Rather she has said that “the Gomoa Akyempim Traditional Council is not aware of the decision by the Omanhene.” 

“We have a standing committee that sits on matters of this nature to advise accordingly. Unfortunately, there are two standing committees now after the Omanhene dissolved the original standing committee in an arbitrary decision.” 

The second standing committee is made up of chiefs' who are new members, some chiefs who haven’t been gazetted for various reasons. Maybe, this illegitimate standing committee made this decision,” he said.

New Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036)
Per the new Act, “a chief, Tendana, head of clan or family in charge of the management of stool, clan or family land who fails to be transparent, fair, open and impartial in matters affecting land under the management of that person commits an offence and upon summary, the conviction shall be liable to a fine of not less than five thousand penalty units (GH¢60,000.00) and not more than ten thousand penalty units (GH¢120,000.00) or a term of imprisonment of not less than five years and not more than ten years or to both.”

Land-guards

The new Act also criminalises the acts of land-guards who do not have an interest in land and unlawfully exercise or purport to supervise or control land development and use unlawful means to extort money and other benefits from persons with an interest inland.

It stipulates that land guards who are convicted summarily could face up to 15 years imprisonment.

Again, a person who engages a land guard to unlawfully use force, intimidation, or violence to drive another person away from that other person’s land or prevents the other person from having access to that other person’s land commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a term of imprisonment of not less than ten years and more than fifteen years.

Errant Public Officers

The new Land Act has for the first time prescribed offences for public officers who falsify records, commit fraud through dubious means, fraudulently remove some documents filed from the Lands Commission, fraudulently mutilate, deface or mutilate any document or register, fraudulently make unauthorised entry or alteration.

Such public officials upon conviction shall be liable to a fine, not less than one thousand penalty units (GH¢12,000.00) and not more than two thousand penalty units (GH¢24,000.00) or to a term of imprisonment of not less than two years and not more than five years or both.

Before the enactment of the new Act, there were 16 laws on land, but that Act 1036 had since repealed 13 of them and codified some.

“Act 1036 has made several changes in the existing law including some of the freehold interest, customary tenancies, protection of land and interest in land; accountability for fiduciaries and making them both criminally and civilly liable.

It has also prohibited discriminatory practices under customary tenure, areas reserved for common use, the meaning and scope of a person who is not a citizen concerning the acquisition of land, and restrictions on property acquired by parties during the marriage.

The Act has placed more responsibilities on chiefs and heads of families who hold land in trust for their stools or families.

 Freeman Koryekpor Awlesu Greater Accra Regional Correspondent