Minister says land dispute between Manya and Yilo is worrying

Odumase-Krobo, Sep. 17, GNA - Mr Mohammed Ahmed Baba Jamal, the Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, on Friday expressed worry about the protracted land dispute between the people of Manya and Yilo Krobo Traditional councils.

He said the dispute between the two traditional councils had made it impossible for any of them to access royalties paid by the Ghana Cement (GHACEM) in Tema and J A Fang Limited, a mining company, mining limestone at Oterkpolu.

Mr Baba Jamal said since 2008 the two companies had paid more than one trillion cedis as royalties but due to misunderstanding between the two areas the money had been paid into the expo account. He therefore appealed to the two traditional councils to find a lasting solution to the dispute in order to access the money to develop their areas.

Mr Baba Jamal expressed the concern when he led a delegation from the two companies to donate 500 bags of cement to owners of four houses which were destroyed at Odumase Krobo as a result of an accident caused by a track belonging to the companies a week ago The accident, which occurred on September 7, killed Benjamin Amoatey, 50, and injured Augustina Naki, 17, Edmund Mensah Tetteh, 13 and Collins Amoanor, 9.

The companies also donated GHC 2,500 to the bereaved family, GHC 1,000 to the wife of the deceased and GHC 500 to each of the three injured persons.

They also assured to bear all the funeral expenses of the deceased and assist the injured to access their insurance benefits. The Deputy Minister and the delegation later paid separate courtesy calls on Nene Sackitey II, Konor of the Manya Traditional Council and the Yilo Traditional Council. The two traditional councils assured the delegation of their readiness to unite to be able to access the money to undertake development projects.