Eguafo youth demand end to two-year land dispute stalling multi-million Industrial Park

Some residents in Eguafo in the Komenda-Edina-Guafo-Abrem (KEEA) Municipality of the Central Region have appealed to Mr Samuel Atta Mills, Member of Parliament, Mr Samuel Atta Mills and opinion leaders to resolve an urgent land dispute in the community stiffling development.

The stalled project had key facilities, including a flagship furniture factory poised to produce thousands of free school tables and chairs for schools across the municipality and beyond.

It features a modern-rustic blend of factories and facilities, but currently lies fallow and choking development with many youth wondering jobless in the streets.

Community-wide, it is expected to empower women through on-site skills training in woodworking and assembly, foster vocational apprenticeships for school dropouts, and spur ancillary businesses like food vending and transport—ultimately lifting household incomes and reducing youth migration to urban centers.

The furniture factory aligns with national education goals under the Free Senior High School policy, supplying durable desks to relieve overcrowding in Central Region schools and cutting procurement costs by up to 40 percent.

Making the appeal at a press conference in the community, Mr Emmanuel Quainoo, the spokesperson issued a passionate plea for an immediate resolution to a two-year land dispute that has left a sprawling 10-acre industrial park in the community in despair.

The prime site, located directly opposite Eguafo Senior High School, buzzed with promise two years ago as building materials had been left at the mercy of criminals.

According to him, work grounded to a halt following a Cape Coast High Court 2 injunction in a protracted litigation between Mr Victor Paa Kwesi Mensah, a resident of Ablekuma Fan Milk Junction in Accra, and Abusuapayin Kofi Ntoboah, head of the Anona Family in Eguafo, alongside an unnamed developer.

He said the stalled project offered hundreds of jobs to local youth, many of whom had idled as rusting steel and idle machinery rust on.

Its revival promises transformative benefits beyond immediate employment for over 200 workers.

He exemplified the benefits of the project to boost the local economy through supplier chains for timber, steel and logistics, generating tax revenues for the KEEA Municipal Assembly.

Corroborating the concerns, some residents including Mr Kwame Asare, a 28-year-old former site foreman whose livelihood once supported his wife and two young children, expressed deep anguish after two years of joblessness.

"This dispute has stolen our daily bread; I wake up to empty promises while my kids go without," Asare lamented.

"It's like watching a feast prepared for the village, only for greedy hands to smash the pots before anyone eats," he said.

Madam Abena Mena 45-year-old mother in Eguafo, voiced heartbreak over her brother Mr Kofi Atta's downfall.

Once a reliable mason at the site, he now wanders the streets aimlessly, battling despair," she said.

"My brother was the family's pillar, building dreams brick by brick, but now he's a shadow, haunted by what could have been. Politicians talk development, but whose blood pays for their court games?"

Trader, Mader Maame Akosua, whose roadside sachet water business thrived on the daily rush of workers, saw her business crumble overnight. Her once-bustling stall now gathers dust, forcing her to hawk wares door-to-door.

Dozens of other youth gathered at the site chanting for Victor Mensah and Abusuapayin Ntoboah to pursue out-of-court settlement.

"Let the lawyers feast elsewhere, our education, jobs, and futures hang in the balance," they urged, emphasizing human empowerment through skills training that could rival urban opportunities. Municipal authorities echoed the call, noting the disputes ripple effects on investor confidence in the Central Region.

As the sun set over the forsaken park, Eguafo's youth vowed to escalate pressure, determined to reclaim their stake in progress.