Volta Varsity Land Owners Cry Foul

The construction site of the UHAS. INSET: Bulldozers clearing the land

According to them, the government has not completed the process of compensating them.

At a press conference in Ho yesterday, the private owners, numbering over 20 and operating under the name Concerned Landowners of the Proposed University Site, stated that their cash crops on the land were destroyed.

Although UHAS was established under an act of Parliament (Act 828, 2011), the Legislative Instrument has not been completed, which has prevented the authorities from appropriately compensating the land owners.

Chinese contractors are presently developing the infrastructure of the University.

'Is this how private property is acquired by government?' they quizzed.

According to the land owners, who were led by Vida Dzobo, Enyonam Aglaku and Benoni Glala, their rights had been violated.

Mrs. Dzobo, who read the statement on behalf of the group, explained that 'we have come this far because nobody seems to hear our cry.'

She added that 'it is not out of sectarian or partisan interests that we have invited you (the media)…but it is out of frustration and lopsided interventions and the quest to protect and defend our interest.'

'It is our desire to be paid appropriate compensation for our parcels of land acquired by the government of Ghana that led to this decision, she said.

They noted that they could have sought a court injunction to stall the project, but decided to take this first step out of respect and desire for peace and development in the region.

Explaining further, Mrs. Dzobo said the 702-acre land belonged to the Viz Kokorko, Sunu and Dzegbedzi families.

The families over the years offered portions of the land to individuals until government decided to take possession of 220 acres for the University.

Government contacted the original owners, who truthfully informed government that they had sold portions of the land to interested individuals.

As a result, an authentication and re-surveying of land was initiated to pave way for land evaluation and appropriate compensation.

In the process, a consultancy company, WISDAF Company Limited promised to offer its services to the landowners.

Currently about 15 of them have documentations and other requirements while nine others are in the initial stages.

After painstakingly going through the process, WISDAF Consulting submitted the reports and documents to the Land Evaluation Department for the appropriate processes to follow.

Unfortunately, the Land Evaluation office refused to process the documents for compensation because 'there was no Legislative Instrument (L.I.) for the purchase of the land by government.'

Since then, several attempts, including correspondences by the landowners and WISDAF through the Volta Regional Coordinating Council, VRCC to encourage government to pass the L.I. to enable them obtain compensation have fallen on deaf ears.

They advised government to take the appropriate steps.

 From Fred Duodu, Ho