TENSION OVER DANSOMAN LANDS

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

The government’s acquisition of lands for the Dansoman Estates Housing Scheme in Accra in 1968 has become intricate following claims for compensation by rival families.

A family that was awarded default judgement in 2004 to pursue compensation claims for 1,700 acres used for the estates is being challenged by another family that insists the claimant does not even have land over there.

Issues came to a head when the families- Ajumako Dawurampong Family led by one Joshua Attoh Quarshie (claimant) and Naa Okomfo Aku Family of Mpoase led by Nii Adotey Din Barimah and Nii Samoa Okropon appeared before the Sole-Commissioner investigating the payment of judgement debts yesterday.

Ajumako Dawurampong Family

Attoh Quarshie, who was represented by Abeka Fazet and his counsel Asamoah Amoako, testified that the land was acquired under E.I. 27 and after several years of agitation, they finally secured a default judgement in 2004 for compensation to be paid.

Abeka Fazet said the court awarded the Ajumako Dawurampong Family GH¢500,000 for the land and the Attorney General’s Department was given time to set aside the judgement but failed to do so, compelling them to go for enforcement of the order in April 2005.

“The family in late 2008 got an order for execution and it was after this that the Ministry of Finance started to pay us something. We were paid GH¢100,000 and there was an agreement that the rest be arranged in the form of treasury bills.”

Sole-Commissioner Justice Apau Yaw Apau questioned why they used 2004 values for the valuation of land acquired in the 1960s and said that had ballooned the cost.

Naa Okomfo Aku Family

The Naa Okomfo Aku Family reacted angrily to the claims by Ajumako Dawurampong Family and said the Dansoman Housing Scheme was amalgamation of several communities and that the claimants did not even have ‘an inch of land.’

Nii Din Barima, who is a presidential staffer, said “Dansoman was a small village next to Mamprobi. There were other towns like Dama, Mpoase, Amissah Gonno where Dansoman Police Station currently is located, Klaman, Otojor and Sakaman. Mpoase alone lost 324.55 acres of land to the Executive Instrument.”

He admitted that documents showed that the Sempe Stool, under which all the lands fell, took some money from the Land Valuation Board in the 1960s part of which was used to complete the Sempe Palace where then chief Nii Tetteh Kpeshie was laid in state but insisted that the government was yet to pay full compensation for the lands.

Nii Okropong also added that in the suit the Ajumako Dawurampong Family was not even party to a Supreme Court judgement in 1991 over the Dansoman lands but was able to make references to secure the default judgement.

“They were not beneficiaries in 1991 and cannot seek to use the court’s decision to claim compensation in 2004,” he stated.

Justice Apau told the feuding families that the work of the commission was not to determine who was the rightful owner and urged them to seek redress in court.

Apaaso Stools lands

Nana Akyeamehene Dwomor, a Goldsmith from Apaaso and linguist to Nana Otieku Amoani Asare III, a witness who had already testified, told the commission that he received only GH¢2,000 out of a whopping GH¢130,012.74 collected on his behalf by the chief as compensation in the flooded Volta Basin area.

Records at the Commission showed that Nana Amoani Asare III collected a total of over GH¢200,000 on behalf of different claimants under the Apaaso Stool.

When the Akyemehene heard about it yesterday, he said “I am even getting sick.”

The visibly shocked witness said “when he gave me the GH¢2,000 he said that was just by the way and the bigger amount was coming.”

He added that there was no place in Apaaso called Ahamandi where the chief also claimed huge sums as compensation.

Anyase lands

Nana Anima III, queenmother of Anyasi flanked by Nana Kwasi Tutu IV, who is the chief of the town, also testified that the late chief of Jekiti took their lands and added it to their compensation application.

She claimed the current Jekiti Chief had refused to cede Anyase lands in the Volta Basin compensation process and added that about 15,852 had gone to Jekiti but Justice Apau advised them to seek legal counsel to determine their lands.