Be clear on CMB land – Zanetor to government

The Government of Ghana must provide clarity on the ownership of the plot on which the CMB branch of the Ghana Private Roads and Transport Union (GPRTU) is located, Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, Member of Parliament for Klottey Korley, has said.

According to her, the seeming feud between traders and members of the GPRTU on one hand; and the Ghana Railways Authority and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly on the other, is as result of lack of clarity over the ownership of the property and its intended purpose.

The CMB branch of the GPRTU is up in arms against the government over plans of a private developer to take over the property to build stores on them.

According to the drivers, that plot of land was given to the GPRTU by former President Jerry John Rawlings 25 years ago.

Attah Frimpong, Welfare Chairman of the CMB branch of the GPRTU, told Chief Jerry Forson on Ghana Yensom on Tuesday, 26 June that the estate developer has started raising some structures on parts of the property.

“A private developer says he has bought that plot from the Ghana Railways Authority and they intend to raise structures on it, they are building stores on it. This is disturbing news to us because that is where we have been engaging in our business for the past 25 years. Rawlings gave us that plot and we have been working there through all these years, it is only during President Akufo-Addo’s time that some estate developer said he owns the property.

“We are pleading with President Akufo-Addo to come and assist us. We know he is a listening person, and, so, he will listen to us.”

Mr Frimpong added: “We are taxpayers and we always contribute to the building of the nation. We want the president to make the station a permanent station. At CMB, we have a Lost and Found Department where missing items are kept for their rightful owners.”

“President Akufo-Addo promised us during the election period that the plot will not be taken from us, and, so, we want him to stick to his word.”

Speaking on the same show, Ms Agyeman-Rawlings said: “The reality is that there is not much clarity on what is going on. When the Minister [Joe Ghartey] answered the question that I posed regarding what the future of that area, CMB, was, he assured the House the only thing that was going on there was a specific area that structures were being constructed for railway workers, and that there is going be a face-lift of the area so that those who are trading there can trade in a better surrounding because currently the environment in which they operate is actually quite bad. When it rains, it gets very muddy. He also re-assured us that given that it’s a very busy commercial area, the people will not be removed, it will actually be re-done for them to actually live there. So, what is happening there is kind of contrary to what we were informed about.

“The concerns that a lot of people in CMB have raised is the fact that the land is a railways land but it appears as though some private individuals have acquired the land and are using it to build their own thing, which does not align with what we have been told is the plan for the area.

“A lot of people have already been evicted from the area and there is no place in Accra for this kind of place be replicated, so, this must be re-looked into, regarding the railways.”