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WENCHI: Crop Research Station petitions MUSEC over encroachment

The Agricultural Research Station in Wenchi, have petition the Municipal Security Council headed by the Municipal Chief Executive of Wenchi Municipal Assembly Hon. Dr. Prince Kwakye Afriyie to as a matter of urgency use his powers to stop private developers from further encroaching on their lands.

Date Created : 2/28/2019 4:55:59 AM : Story Author : E. D. K. Tottimeh Jnr/Ghanadistricts.com

At a short ceremony to present the application, the Director of the Station Mr. Robert Arthur recalled that it was during the government of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah that the over 912.5 acres of land was acquired and had served as one of the few agro ecological zones of the country.

He said prior to this, the station was a State Farm and several plantations took place. He mentioned that the place has for a long period served as a research center for Research Institutions, Universities, Students, NGO’S and other stakeholders in the Agricultural Value Chain.

Mr. Arthur said the station took several steps to curtail the encroachment by consulting, writing letters, held discussions with all stakeholders and custodians of the government’s lands and it included Wenchi Municipal Assembly, Wenchi Traditional Council, Nana Wenchihemaa, Town and Country Planning Department, Lands Commission, Survey Department, Ghana Police Service, and BNI. He added that all efforts to stop the encroachment prove futile until October 2014 when the Regional Director of TCPD responded to one of their letters written to him on 6th September 2010 in connection of the encroachment.

He emphatically instructed the Wenchi Municipal TCPD officers to stop any work regarding the preparation of site or demarcating of plot or processing of development application from the encroachment area.

He then further advised and appeal to the Wenchi Municipal Assembly not to approve any development application from the encroachment area.

He also sent a copy to Land commission and advised them to suspend the approval of any application or lease (land registration) from the encroachment area until the issue is amicably resolved by the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC).

The Research Director noted that despite the technical directives, private developers are still putting up buildings and about 100 acres of land have already been encroached. He therefore appealed to the Municipal Security Council to come to the aid of the station by constituting a committee of enquiry to investigate the circumstance surrounding the encroachment.

We have done a re-zoning since2014 but the land is still under encroachment therefore I am seeking support from the Assembly to curtail the challenges he added.

The Municipal Chief Executive Dr. Prince Kwakye Afriyie warned against any indiscriminate sales of government lands in the area. He said when government takes over a parcel of land, until it gives it back to the land owners, no individual or group of persons have the right to temper with it.

He therefore sent a strong signal to individuals who were in the business of encroaching on such lands belonging to government to desist from doing so as his office will not hesitate to take any action to claim the lands even if it will warrant pulling down such unauthorized structures he added.

He assured the management of the Station of his commitment in safeguarding what belonged to government.

Dr. Kwakye Afriyie further mentioned that the Physical Planning Committee of the Assembly and Municipal Security Council would be meeting on the matter and again he will brief the Regional Security Council on happenings in other to find a lasting solution to the matter and also pay a visit to the place with MUSEC.

He appealed to Nananom and family heads to only sell lands that belonged to them.