Land guards strike at Achimota School

Headmistress of Achimota School, Mrs. Beatrice Adom, has appealed for a 24-hour security protection to save lives and property in her school.

The appeal by the headmistress follows increased land guard activities on lands belonging to the school.

According to the headmistress, land guard activities were putting lives of students, staff and state properties under constant threat.

Mrs. Adom revealed that four persons including the chief driver of the school were killed by land guards between September and October last year.

The killings, according to her, happened on the school’s compound.

The headmistress made the revelation when the school authorities met members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on lands and forestry to brief them on the latest development concerning illegal sale of the Achimota School lands.

“Besides the murder cases, there have been a number of thefts in the school including vandalisation, just last Monday, 7th March, 2016 five vehicles belonging to some staff had all their windscreens smashed,” she disclosed.

Mrs. Adom reiterated that the incidents were “real threats, frightening and worrisome” to members of the school community, stressing whiles the school continued to grapple with the problem of encroachment, the security of the staff and students was at risk.

Achimota School has been battling encroachment of its lands by churches, estate developers and the displaced residents of Sodom and Gomorrah, who have relocated and are occupying some portions of the school’s land.

The headmistress indicated that about 172.68 acres of the school land earmarked for expansion works had been taken over by encroachers.

The squatters, she said, were gradually getting closer to the school’s facilities, especially the newly constructed Millennium Dormitory Block, a situation she described as very alarming.

Meanwhile members of the parliamentary select committee have vowed to handle the issues of encroachment and other related matters with the urgency it deserved since Achimota School is a national asset and a world historical heritage; hence the land needs to be protected.

Earlier, authorities at the Lands Commission noted that they have not issued land title to any developer on the school’s lands.

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has also not issued building permits to developers.

These came to the fore when the select committee members asked the executive secretary of lands commission whether they had issued documents to any developer concerning the Achimota School land.