13-Man c’ttee launched to probe encroachment on MDPI lands
The Minister of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR), Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, has inaugurated a 13-member committee to probe the encroachment of lands belonging to the Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI) in Accra.
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The members include Ms Charlotte Hanson and Mr Rudolph S. Kuuzegh, representing the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR); Dr Jerome R. Awortwi-Abban and Mrs Angelina Crabbe, representing the MDPI, while Mr Ransford Addotey and Nii Gonten Teikotsru represent the Nungua Traditional Authority (NTA).
Others are Mr William Kpobi, a Chief State Attorney; Mr Richard Afoakwa of the Lands Commission; Ms Gladys Muquah of the Ledzokuku Krowor Municipal Assembly (LEKMA) and Mrs Francisca Okyere of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA). The rest are representatives of residents of the area, Apostle Nana Owusu, Mr Edem Asiamah and Isaac Delali Duose.
Terms of reference
The committee is to identify and establish the proprietary interest of the MDPI in the area, determine the present net value of the lands in question, as well as the structures on it and also interface with the squatters (residents) with the view to providing them with claims.
It will also make recommendations on the possibility of repossessing the MDPI lands, and is expected to submit its report by July 31, 2017.
Inauguration
Commissioning the committee in Accra last Wednesday, Mr Awuah charged members of the committee to ensure that it submitted its report on time.
“Our interest is not to punish the residents but to let them know that they cannot take something that does not belong to them. The intention is to reposition the school for future developments,” he stated.
According to Mr Awuah, the parcel of land had not seen any major development at the pace anticipated since the time of its acquisition.
Assurance
The Chairman of the committee, Mr Kuuzegh, gave the assurance that the committee would live up to expectation by working hard to meet the deadline.
He called for the necessary support and cooperation from the ministry.
Background
The commissioning of the committee followed a familiarisation tour led by Mr Awuah to the institute’s site at Baatsona, off the Spintex Road, which made them realise that 160 acres of the school’s land that was acquired some 40 years ago had been encroached upon by individuals and some religious groups.
