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13.05.2009 NDC

Gadangme gun exposes NDC:over Tudu high rise AMA contract

13.05.2009 LISTEN
By The Statesman

The level of intimidation politics that the leadership of the National Democratic Congress has inculcated into movements like the DaDangme Youth is having a domino effect on the good governance obligations of the Mills administration to the people of Ghana.

The posturing accompanying such thinking has also gone to the point of embarrassing the government in the eyes of other State institutions, including the Accra Metropolitan Assembly and Greater Accra Regional administration.

A document sighted by The Statesman , intended for the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Ashitey Armah, for instance, indicates the contempt in which one GaDangme activist, Dzakutse Nii, holds the judiciary, as he makes a complaint to the Minister about a piece of GaDangme land which he claims in the letter has been illegally sold to three companies, including a certain Kwame Dankwah of Accra.

The letter, which is written on a GaDangme Monitoring Unit letter head, and dated May 2, 2009, seeks to authorize the Regional Minister to "order all those on the land to stop further development and also institute a Committee to look into all contracts and all monies paid to AMA by those who build on our land.”

The hot-head GaDangme activist did not end there. He literally demanded in the name of GaDangme solidarity that the Minister “look into all contracts which have been entered into by all the various district assemblies on lorry parks.”

Since the NDC took over, fights over toilet facilities, lorry parks, market toll contracts and DCE and MCE positions have typified the intimidation politics associated with the NDC.

Significantly, not one copy of the terse, three paragraphed letter has been copied the Ga Traditional Council, the leadership of the GaDangme Movement or elements of the Osu Traditional, who jump to the aid of the GaDangme Youth on such controversial issues.

This is in spite of the fact that the Ga Traditional Council, the Yilo-Manya Krobo Traditional Council and the “Local Government” is cited on the letterhead as offering support of their various councils for activities being engaged in by the boys of the GaDangme Monitoring Unit.

The signatory to the letter, however, offers no contact number to assist anybody making inquiries. It does not also contain information on where to locate the offices of the Monitoring Unit or a mail address.

The Regional Minister has already had a contempt case hung on his head when he attempted an amicable settlement, according to judicial sources, in the Tudu land turf case, which was ruled in favour of the local investor, presided over by Justice Ofoe-Quartey.

The Minister was compelled to apologise to the judge and make a commitment not to intervene again.

Amorphous GaDabgme groups, acting in the name of the various traditional councils in indigenous Accra, have given the leadership of the indigenous traditional councils a bad name in recent times over unhealthy and divisive political statements they have publicly made that have tended to injure the reputation of the GaDangme community as well as Ga opinion leaders.

According to a Greater Accra Regional Administration source, the Minister has intended to disregard the letter.

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