Save CSIR lands at Pokuase, Amasaman from encroachment. Union urges govt
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has appealed to the government to intervene to help save its 100-acre parcel of land at Pokuase/ Amasaman in the Greater Accra Region from encroachers.
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The council said presently, the land was under threat as some private developers were clearing the land.
The land sited directly near the Amasaman Sport Stadium, and meant for research to develop and transfer technologies related to livestock and poultry production in Ghana, is part of the 530 acres allocated to the institute more than 60 years ago.
The Union Chairman of CSIR, Michael Amoo-Gyasi, who together with the national executives, addressed a news conference last Wednesday, said considering the size of the land excluding areas already developed or encroached, CSIR should be able to secure the 100-acre parcel.
Mr Amoo-Gyasi said the governing council and management of CSIR have put in every effort over the past few months to fully secure the 100 acre parcel, as a compromise to accommodate the affordable housing project, in a desperate attempt to protect the development of science and technology.
“To our shock and dismay, it has come to our attention that a private developer is clearing the entire 400 plus acres of the land, disregarding the terms of the initial agreement and in the processing destroying ongoing scientific experiments,” he said.
Impact
The Union Chairman said the action by faceless individuals and so-called investors and contractors was destroying valuable CSIR research materials which had taken decades to develop on the experimental field plots.
Also, it poses a severe threat to the vital research and development endeavours conducted by the institute.
Consequently, the union, on behalf of the council, appealed to the government, which in itself has taken part of the land for a housing project, to intervene to help secure the land for its intended purpose.
He explained that the CSIR has been at the forefront of the development of various crop varieties, conservation of Ghana's indigenous genetic resources, soil classification and conservation practices, food processing and preservation, forest and water resources management; building and road technology; agriculture, aquaculture and food security.
He said while CSIR continued to strive to make the necessary impact on our society, with meagre resources, it had to deal almost daily with individuals and entities who attempt to brazenly take over their lands using every means, without regard to the cumulative and long-term benefits that the country derives from the national assets.
“As National Executives of the CSIR Staff Associations and Unions, we vehemently condemn these actions and urgently call upon the government to intervene.
The CSIR lands were acquired by the state for the explicit purpose of research, technology and innovation development.”
“Preserving this land is not merely a matter of property rights but a commitment to securing the foundation laid by past generations for scientific and technological advancement—a legacy that must be safeguarded for the benefit of current and future generations,” he said.
Background
In 2019, the government allocated portions of the CSIR land at Pokuase/Amasaman for the construction of housing units. Realising that the proposed project was going to significantly affect the work of CSIR, its management took immediate steps to halt the process until they were fully engaged with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), and the Ministry of Works and Housing, which was responsible for the development of the project.
The action by the council triggered the intervention of the Vice-President of the Republic, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who constituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee to resolve the impasse.
The work of the Inter-Ministerial Committee concluded that CSIR be apportioned some 184 acres of the land, and that areas occupied by the CSIR be consolidated into one general area and be issued a lease by the Lands Commission.
This lease was never issued by the Lands Commission.
Last year a new site plan from the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority (LUSPA) indicated that the 184 acres apportioned to the CSIR has been reduced to 100 acres.
This was confirmed by the sod-cutting ceremony that President Nana Akufo-Addo approved the use of portions of the land for the proposed Affordable Housing Project. Later checks at the Ministry of Works and Housing indicated that the area allocated to the project was 203 acres.
