CSIR Demonstrate Against Government Over Pokuase, Amasaman Land

Ghana’s economy has grown by an average of five percent a year since 1990, enabling it to meet the Millennium Development Goal of having hunger, and to reduce the prevalence of undernourishment form 34 percent of the population in 2000 to just 5 percent in 2012.-

In January 2011, Land registration in Ghana has historically been cumbersome and disorganized.

As a result, thousands of titles remain unregistered and land conflict is rife. Of the 42,000 applications for land registration submitted between 1986 and 2006, less than 30 percent were registered.

Land conflicts arise as claimants take advantage of the poorly coordinated system and register titles without other claimants’ knowledge.

With this the council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the Animal Research Institute (CSIR_ARI) is fighting against government to relocate Sodom and Gomorrah victim to Pokuase and Amasaman Land in the Greater Accra Region.

Information reaching workers of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) that government is currently taking steps to relocate some displaced victims from Sodom and Gomorrah on the research pasture land that belongs to the CSIR-animal research institute (CSIR-ARI) for research and development.

The land according to the National Chairman CSIR-Local Union John H. Baffoe, was given out to the CSIR-ARI purposely for research, and is currently being used for that purpose. The staff of CSIR is therefore strongly cautioning individuals, organization and the government and any other organized groups to stay away from the land and will do anything to counteract any actions to encroach on the said land.

Again and again the land in question is meant for research to develop and transfer technologies related to livestock poultry production in Ghana.

Currently, several hundreds of acres of land belonging to CSIR-ARI have been encroached upon and even though the CSIR have secured a court demolition order, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get protection from the security agencies to execute the demolition exercise.

“The workers of CSIR have not given up on this, and will continue to pursue it until the security agencies provide the needed protection for the demolition exercise “he said.

Paradox, on the issue of relocation of the displaced Sodom and Gomorrah victims, workers of CSIR will not hesitate to take drastic measures to prevent encroachers from taking over.

John H.Baffoe indicates that, the intention to relocate the Sodom and Gomorrah a displaced victim was conceived some six years ago by government and the CSIR vehemently opposed it.

Therefore the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and GA West Municipal Assembly (GWMA) made attempt to take over land belonging to CSIR at Pokuase and Amasaman to resettle traders from old Fadama in 2009.

Consistently the high court granted an injunction on 1st February 2010 to restrain the AMA and GWMA and their agents from interfering with the land.

The he said has not been finally settled and so the AMA and GWMA are legally restrained from taking the CSIR land at Pokuase and Amasaman.

In conclusion the workers appeal to government to shelve the ideal now and never revisit it again to enable the cordial relationship that exist between government and the CSIR to continue and allow research to be employed for the development of the country.

By Anita Frimpong