Govt to stop problems of land acquisition blocking investments

Ho, Sept 29, GNA - Vice President Aliu Mahama on Saturday said government would engineer reforms in the land sector so that land acquisition ceased to become a stumbling block to investors. He said the current Land Administration Project should be able to rationalize land management in the near future. Vice President Mahama was addressing a grand durbar to climax the Yam Festival of the Asogli State in Ho.

The Vice-President promised that traditional authorities, as custodians of the land and on behalf of their people, would be fully involved in the land tenure rationalization process. The month long festival was under the theme "Jubilee Yam Festival, Attitudinal Change for Development in the Next 50 years". Vice President Mahama said the festival's origin, being the celebration of good harvest, should encourage farmers to strive to increase yield through the use of new and high yielding varieties of crops, reduce post harvest losses and embrace better marketing techniques.

He said it was not "uncommon to find crops that our farmers have produced under difficult conditions going waste for lack of effective storage and marketing".

He said while government had chalked significant successes in the modernization of agriculture, "we are aware that more needs to be done in the areas of post harvest technology and marketing." Vice President Mahama said it was his vision that every farmer "earns the value of his or her work whilst consumers of agricultural produce enjoy the best quality for fair prices." The Vice-President called for national unity, where attitudes and pronouncements which tend to divide Ghanaians on ethnic, religious and social lines would be denounced.

"Cooperate Ghana is above any individual or ethnic grouping..." Vice President Mahama said government development agenda was on course and that the process would consolidate macro-economic gains. Togbe Afede XIV, Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State, appealed to government to help resolve the dispute over ownership of land acquired for a power project at Kpone.

The Asogli Power project is Chinese/Asogli State collaboration brokered by Togbe Afede but now being delayed by a row between the Asogli Power and VALCO over the right owners of the land. Togbe Afede complained about the poor reception given him and his team in China by the Ghanaian Embassy officials and advised that diplomats should give equal attention to visitors regardless of who they were or where they came from.

He lauded the contribution of present and past leaders to national development but expressed regret that Ghana, after 50 years of independence, should not have the poverty levels of today and be so dependent on donor countries.

Togbe Afede said this year had brought a lot of good tidings to Ghana, as oil had been discovered in commercial quantities, a hydro-dam at Bui started, currency successfully demonetised and a recent donor support pledge.

He said these achievements alone would not grow the country if the people remained indifferent to national affairs and look on when a few individuals plundered the country's resources. Togbe Afede said corruption was so widespread that it was believed that prefects in school now take bribes to cancel punishments of erring students.

He said there was too much talking about what was going wrong without action to stop them and that that people who refused standing up to the truth would be enmeshed in confusions created by incapable people.

Togbe Afede appealed to chiefs to be outspoken about governance, saying he supported views that people in certain public offices declared their assets.

Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II, Omanhene of Akyem Abuakwa State who was the special guest, said Ghana needed fearless and pro-change leaders to turn the country's fortunes around. Togbe Agorkorli, King of Ewes in Togo who came with a 30 member entourage was among the dignitaries.

The durbar was heralded by a 400 metre-long procession of chiefs through the municipality to the Jubilee Grounds, built to the mark the 50th year of Ghana's independence.