Akyem Bieni residents demand land from COCOBOD
The people of Akyem Bieni in the Birim South District in the Eastern Region have staged a protest to demand the return of a piece of land taken by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) for the establishment of a cocoa experimental station.
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The land, which was taken in 1954, now houses the seed production division.
Led by the chiefs and elders, the people, mostly wearing red bands around their necks, heads and arms, marched through the principal streets of the town and the premises of the cocoa station, carrying placards, drumming and singing war songs.
Some of the placards read, “We need our land for development,” “We no go sit down for COCOBOD to cheat us”, “Give our children COCOBOD scholarships” and “We need compensation and agreement on our lands.”
Addressing a news conference, the Gyaasehene of the town, Nana Owusu Debrah, gave the Chief Executive of COCOBOD one month to enter into a negotiation with the people to pay them accumulated compensation or stool land revenue since 1954.
Forceful take-back
He threatened that the people would take back their land forcibly if that was not done.
He stressed that as part of the corporate social responsibility, they expected that some natives of the town would be employed at the station but that had never been done.
Nana Debrah noted with concern that despite the acquisition of 70 per cent of their farmland for the cocoa project, not a single child from Bieni had been awarded COCOBOD scholarship to pursue further studies.
“The Bieni community has never benefited from funds set aside by COCOBOD to rehabilitate leading cocoa producing areas. Due to that, all roads linking Bieni with other communities in the district have become almost unmotorable,” he emphasised.
Deplorable roads
Nana Debrah noted with regret that the people had to walk to neighbouring towns because drivers found it difficult to ply those roads.
He stressed that as no proper land acquisition agreement had been made with the chief and people of Bieni, COCOBOD had flagrantly continued to disregard the position of the chief and elders of the community as custodians of the land on which the station worked.
“This absolute disregard, which is tantamount to disrespect to the community, has infuriated the townsmen, including the youth, to the extent that the community is prepared to use all available means, including force, to eject the staff from the station,” Nana Debrah warned.
All attempts by journalists to get the version of the officer-in-charge of the cocoa station, Mr Dickson Agyemang Prempeh, proved futile as the entire staff had locked up their offices and gone into hiding for fear of being attacked by the angry people of Bieni.
