Encroachers take over Nungua Sports Complex land
A large portion of the land acquired for the construction of a National Olympics Sports Complex at Nungua in Accra has been developed by encroachers.
The government acquired the 745.272 acres by an Executive Instrument (EI) in 1999 from the Nungua Stool and Regimanuel Estates, a real estate company, but work on the national sports complex has not started.
The Chief Director of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Alhaji Abdulai Yakubu, told the Judgement Debt Commission last Tuesday that the ministry was planning to form a team to advise the ministry on how to reclaim the encroached portions of the land.
Details of the acquisition
Alhaji Yakubu said the government discussed the decision to put up the sports complex with the Nungua Stool and Regimanuel Estates.
Consequently, the state acquired the Nungua land by EI 17 in 1999 to construct the sports complex.
Thereafter, Alhaji Yakubu said the Land Valuation Division of the Lands Commission valued the land and put its value at ¢20.67 billion (old cedis.)
He added that the state was yet to pay compensation to the Nungua Stool and the Regimanuel Estates.
The chief director said the ministry had written to the Ministry of Finance to release money for the payment of compensation.
Other case
The Chief of Apaaso, Nana Otieku Amoani Asare III, also appeared before the commission with respect to compensation he had received for submerged lands belonging to the Apaaso Stool in the Volta Basin.
The portion of land for which he received compensation was part of lands around the Volta Basin which got flooded following the construction of the Akosombo Dam in 1965. All of the affected people were resettled by the state.
However, some clans in the Pai, Apaaso, Makango, Ahmandi and Krachi traditional areas who were also resettled went back to the government 50 years later to ask for compensation.
Consequently, Cabinet gave approval on July 23, 2008, for compensation (totalling ¢138 million (old cedis) to be paid to them.
Nana Asare told the commission that the submerged land was stool land and that his predecessor added the names of occupants of the land to the list of claimants for compensation.
He explained that the idea was to get compensation for the crops of the occupants on the submerged land.
Nana Asare said he received the first tranche of compensation totalling GH¢332,306 on behalf of the occupants but since they were not satisfied that he collected the money on their behalf, they took the case to court to challenge his authority to do that. “The case is pending in court,” he added.
