La Traditional Council takes Ghana@50 to court

Accra, Nov. 9, GNA - An Accra High Court on Thursday ordered the La Traditional Council (LTC) to file an Application on Notice when it appeared before it with an Ex-Parte Motion on a disputed land at La Wireless in Accra, which is being developed by the Ghana@50 Secretariat.

The Court said its order became necessary because by coming on an Ex-Parte Motion, the Council was asking the Court to hear its side only without listening to the other party in the suit. By coming on Motion on Notice, however, the Court would then serve the other party so that both sides would have the chance to be heard by the court.

Last week, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey, former Speaker of Parliament, filed an interlocutory application at the Fast Track Court on behalf of the LTC praying the Court to restrain the Ghana@50 Secretariat from developing a piece of land at the La Wireless Station until the case had been fully heard.

Since the on-going project belongs to government, a copy of the Motion on Notice, when and if it is filed by the LTC, would be served on the Attorney-General.

The Court would then fix a date for counsel on both sides to make their submissions after which it would give its ruling. Mr William Addo represented LTC.

The Ghana@50 Secretariat is using a portion of the land on behalf of government for the construction of a number of presidential suites to accommodate presidents and high profile foreign dignitaries who would be attending the country's Golden Jubilee Celebrations in March next year. In 1950, government compulsorily acquired the land in question for a wireless project, but the project was later abandoned and the land was lying fallow.

Recently, the La Youth said it detected that the land was being developed and therefore reported the matter to the Council. Not satisfied with government's decision to use the land for the Golden Jubilee Project, the LTC said it was compelled to seek refuge at the law courts to get the matter resolved.

Consequently, it filed the interlocutory application at the Fast Track Court last week asking it to restrain the Secretariat from continuing with the project.