Ga and Dangme Land Rights and Other Rights

– Practising Fairness and Equity!

We feel compelled to comment on the recent developments regarding the Ga Youth group and the unfortunate saga surrounding the government building that the former President, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufour, had acquired or occupied and renovated for use as his office.

We want to make it extremely clear that the Ga Youth’s action with respect to the Osu office of the former President John Agyekum Kufour, had nothing to do with ethnic hatred and should not be irresponsibly portrayed as such. In our opinion, the Ga Youth reacted to what they perceived to be greed, corruption and insensitivity given the history surrounding the Ga lands. They also acted out of anger due to a sense of betrayal because before he left office, the former President apparently promised to release certain properties located in Accra to the Ga Stool; however, he failed to have the then Attorney General complete the necessary paperwork to transfer the assets. Unfortunately, the announcement that the former President had acquired a government building at Ridge while reneging on his promise to transfer the said assets to the Ga Stool fueled the anger of the Ga Youth group.

The Ga lands issue is a constitutional rights and land rights issue so nobody should distort the facts and make it an ethnic hatred issue or expect the Ga and Dangme people alone to give up or suppress their constitutional and land rights for national unity purposes. We cannot have a situation in Ghana where one particular group of people are asked to give up their land rights while other groups feel they have a right to pursue a “property-owning democracy” that involves private acquisition of land that was provided for national development purposes. The Ga and Dangme people have no intention of giving up their rights -- so we all should just get used to it!

Unalienable Right to Seek Development Interest: In addition, the Ga and Dangme people like any other people in Ghana have an unalienable right to organise themselves into associations to seek the development interest of the Ga and Dangme traditional areas in a bid to create and enhance economic opportunities for the urban and rural poor. That is an unalienable right that nobody -- not even the Supreme Court can take from them. Therefore, no group has any right to insist that the rights of one particular ethnic group be limited, restricted or eliminated in the interest of national unity.

Unqualified Apology for Threats: Let us state this clearly, the Ga Youth had no right to threaten to make the life of former President John Agyekum Kufour unpleasant if he persists in using or acquiring the government-owned residential property that is now converted into an office building and located in Osu, Accra. The former President is a Ghanaian and he has every right to live and work in Accra. The Ga Youth were ill-advised in expressing their sentiments in those terms -- despite their anger and frustration with the former President, in particular, and the Ghana government in general over the Ga lands issue. Therefore, we extend an unqualified apology to the former President and his family for the threats that were meted out to him by the Ga Youth.

Right of Free Speech and Assembly: That said, we would like to reiterate that the Ga Youth and any other Ghanaians have a constitutional right of free speech and assembly which allows them to demonstrate and to picket to air their grievances as long as they obtain a permit from the Ghana police, and they do not cause any destruction of property or physically harm and unfairly malign anybody.

Legitimate Grievance: First, in this particular case, the Ga Youth have a legitimate grievance that was aggravated by a disclosure by the spokesman of the former President John Agyekum Kufour to the effect that the former President had acquired and renovated a government-owned building located in the Ridge residential area for his use as an office and then subsequently sought the government’s approval and ratification. The said government building was built on land that the colonial government acquired from the Osu stool under terms that require the government to return the land to the Osu stool, if the government no longer needs the land for governmental purposes. If the former President is merely occupying the said government building as a tenant, then the Ghana government has a right to assign the building for his use. On the other hand, if the former President John Agyekum Kufour has acquired the said building then he did so in blatant violation of the law and the relevant land purchase agreement between the government and the Osu stool.

http://topics.myjoyonline.com/politics/200903/27491.asp

Expiration and Renegotiation of Land Leases: Second, the term of the leases under which the colonial government acquired various land properties -- located in Cantonments, Ridge, Roman Ridge, Airport Residential Area, and Labone to name a few -- from the Ga stools mostly expired in 1999. Since then the Ghana Government has not seen fit to renegotiate the leases but instead embarked upon an unconscionable and aggressive sale of the government buildings and related land to private individuals and organisations. Some of the individuals happen to be party cronies, friends and relatives of officials of the former NPP government. The Ga Youth and GaDangme Council had previously served notice to the NPP government to cease and desist from or place a moratorium on the sale of the properties that are situated on Ga and Dangme lands and the GaDangme Council tried to negotiate a resolution to the problem to no avail.

Sale of Government Buildings and Underlying Land: Third, it is the responsibility of the Ghana Government to clarify the situation and provide the details surrounding the occupation or acquisition of the government buildings by not only the former President but all former government officials and private individuals. The buildings in question were built by the colonial government and used by Gold Coast colonial officers and, subsequently, the government officials of post independence Ghana -- Ministers, Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and other officers -- all of whom understood that the buildings were available for their use during the term of their service and they were expected to vacate the premises upon retirement or termination of their service. We now have a situation where government officials expect to be allowed to acquire government-owned residential buildings or arrange the sale of buildings to their cronies and relatives in direct contravention of the law and agreements governing the acquisition of land on which the government owned properties are situated. Prior to the end of the NPP regime, the Ga Youth protested and prevented the sale of a government-owned building to a government official who is GaDangme indigene. If they had not taken such action, the government building would most definitely have ended up in the hands of a private individual. In response to a report that the Transition team recently submitted to the current NDC government that included references to the inappropriate sale of government buildings, the former Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, responded that from 2003 through 2008, the NPP government continued an asset sale program that the NDC government started in 1999. According to the former Minister, under this program, the NPP government sold buildings to international and local organizations and individuals through a tender process that was advertised and administered by a committee. Apparently, some of the government buildings were also given to the Ga and La Traditional Councils on a gratis basis. The proceeds from the sale of the buildings were presumably used to redevelop the City of Accra, provide housing for the judiciary and other government employees. However, the former Minister admitted that some of the individuals that purchased the buildings have still not paid for them. It was also unclear what percentage of the proceeds of the sale actually benefited the urban poor residents of the Ga traditional area, and whether the government sold the buildings and the underlying land with the tacit approval of the Ga traditional councils and families from whom the land was acquired. Instead of vilifying the Ga Youth, we should be questioning the kind of system that allows certain individuals in Ghana to think that they alone have rights that are superior to the rights of other Ghanaians -- rights that grant them the ability to acquire government assets in direct violation of and abrogation of the terms of the statutes and agreements governing the acquisition of land on which the properties are situated.

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=154854

http://www.modernghana.com/print/207332/1/dr-don-arthur-makes-fresh-allegations-again-bonifa.html

http://www.modernghana.com/news/207860/1/sale-of-govt-bungalowsboniface-hits-back-at-govt-s.html

http://www.modernghana.com/news/207833/1/boniface-cries-foul.html

Compliance with Ghana’s Constitution and Agreements: Fourth, the Ga Youth and the Ga and Dangme organisations and traditional councils and for that matter any other Ghanaians, have every right to insist or demand that the Ghana Government comply with the provisions of Ghana's Constitution and the terms of the agreements under which the government acquired land from various Ga and Dangme stools and families and other stools and families in other regions for governmental purposes. The law and the terms of acquisition of the lands for governmental purposes requires the Ghana government to return the land to their original owners, if no longer needed for governmental purposes. Instead, successive governments have sold land acquired from Ga and Dangme stools and families for public governmental purposes to private developers and individuals for private non-governmental use. More recently, land that the government acquired from the La Stool for wireless telecommunication purposes was diverted for the construction of mansions for guests of Ghana@50 event. The former Speaker of the House, Peter Ala Adjetey, filed an injunction against the government on behalf of the La Stool; however, the court ruled in favor of the Ghana government. The Ghana@50 Secretariat then proceeded to complete the mansions and has now sold the Ghana@50 mansions that were constructed on the La Wireless land to private individuals and companies. A report issued by the Auditor-General dated January 26, 2009 (link provided below), indicates that most of the individuals and companies that purchased the Ghana@50 mansions either made partial or no payment for the mansions. As of January 26, 2009, 18 out of 30 mansions had been sold and only 3 out of the 18 mansions had been fully paid for! Meanwhile, the La Stool and people have been deprived of their land forever! Unfortunately, some Ghanaians consider this to be very fair and insist that the Ga Youth and GaDangme people have no right to demand fair and equitable treatment!

"The lands were acquired for “public purposes” or “in the public interest” under the Public Lands Ordinance of 1876, the Administration of Lands Act of 1962 (Act 123), and State Lands Act of 1962 (Act 125). Thus, the sale of land and government-owned bungalows situated on such land acquired for public purposes is a clear breach of the statutes and Article 20 (6) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, which requires the Government to return compulsorily acquired land to their original owners."[1]

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[1] Source: GaDangme Transactions issued by the GaDangme Council.

http://www.modernghana.com/news/119725/1/ghana-at-50-project-halted-again-at-laformer-speak.html

http://www.africanews.com/site/Ghana_Beware_of_Ga_Lands/list_messages/23068

http://www.citifmonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/scan0001.pdf

Full Accounting, Disclosure and Transparency: Fifth, it would be helpful for the Ghana Government to provide full disclosure to ensure complete transparency of the sale of government buildings -- a report that details all the government buildings, the term of the land lease, the status of the land lease, the current status of the building, if the building has been sold to whom the building was sold, the sale price, the amount paid, and the amount outstanding, if any. All Ghanaians have a right to know how the government is managing assets that were acquired with taxpayers' money -- money that all our forefathers -- farmers, fishermen, traders, office workers, nurses, doctors, engineers, artisans, construction workers, electricians, technicians, carpenters, etc. - worked hard to accumulate and contribute to the national coffers. This is the source of the money that the colonial government and successive governments used to acquire the land and construct the government buildings. The assets did not drop into the Gold Coast or Ghana like manna from heaven so that a few government officials and their political cronies, family and friends who believe they have superior and greater rights than other Ghanaians can sell those buildings to themselves through non-public sales and most likely at dirt cheap prices!

http://dailyguideghana.com/newd/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2773&Itemid=243

Constitutional Rights: Sixth, the “Patriots for the Protection of Western Region Heritage”, the group formed by Kwesi Biney, former DCE for Ahanta West and editor of the Daily Guide, has every right to form an association or group to promote the interest of the Western Region and seek its development. This is an unalienable right; however, their rights should not preclude the rights of the members of other ethnic groups to enforce legal contracts and agreements entered into with successive governments. Nobody has abrogated to the “Patriots for the Protection of Western Region Heritage” the right to determine the constitutional rights of other Ghanaians. It would be best for the “Patriots for the Protection of Western Region Heritage” to pursue a development agenda that is based on the best interest of the people of the Western Region and not one that is based on a retaliatory response to another ethnic group that has been treated unfairly by successive governments and now seeks to assert their rights and secure the development and progress of the urban and rural poor located in the Ga and Dangme areas. In any event, threats about controlling resources in a particular region have absolutely no weight since companies that operate in a particular region pay royalties, taxes and duties to the Ghana government and not to non-governmental regional associations.

http://news.myjoyonline.com/news/200903/28027.asp

Ethno-Centric Policies: Seventh, unfortunately, the former President John Agyekum Kufour's eight years in office was characterised by ethno-centric policies that tended to favor one particular tribe. In 2006 following agitation by the Asante United Front (AUF) that started in 2004, a Kumasi court ruled favorably to return Asante lands held by the Ghana government to the Asanteman Stool. However, all similar appeals from the GaDangme Council for the return of Ga lands fell on deaf ears.

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=107537

http://www.modernghana.com/news2/47174/1/revert-all-kumasi-part-one-lands-to-asanteman-auf.html

Tribal or traditional associations: Eighth, there are a myriad of Ghanaian tribal or traditional associations and tribal-based development organisations that have been established in Ghana and the Diaspora to assist various traditional areas. However, there is extreme hostility among some Ghanaians toward GaDangme organisations that are formed to assist the Ga and Dangme traditional areas. Ghanaweb abounds with news stories and photos about tribal or traditional organisations organising conferences and development activities to assist with the development of specific parts of Ghana. For example, in 2008, development expert Prof. Jeffrey Sachs - Founder of Millennium Cities Initiatives (MCI) - attended a "Kumasi Investment Day" conference that was held in New York to address the development of the Asante region. No one complained about this because it was a good thing for the people of Kumasi and the Asante Region. So what is the exact reason why GaDangme organisations are resented when they attempt to pursue the same development goals?

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/photo.day.php?ID=151269

Development Agenda: Finally, in seeking to promote the social and economic well-being of the urban and rural poor in the Ga and Dangme traditional areas -- the GaDangme people will not limit or preclude the rights of other ethnic groups to pursue their own development goals and agenda. The Ga and Dangme people have always welcomed and lived peacefully with other ethnic groups. We call this the spirit of "Ablekuma"! The warmth and hospitality of the GaDangme people is best exemplified during the Homowo season when we open our homes and share the traditional Homowo meal and festivities with other Ghanaians. However, we can no longer continue to disregard the abject poverty, despondency, massive unemployment, deteriorating infrastructure, and poor sanitation of Ga Mashi and other Ga and Dangme urban and rural areas. We have a right and responsibility to partner with government and other domestic and foreign governmental and nongovernmental organisations to promote the economic development of the Ga and Dangme traditional areas, and this includes land reform and protection of the land rights of the Ga and Dangme people. We also hope that the government will pursue the decentralization of the land registration process and increase the transparency of land transactions in an effort to accelerate economic development and reduce the tensions arising from land issues.

National Development and Balanced Regional Development: We will also support the government's national development efforts and actively promote the adoption of balanced regional development as part of this agenda. We are more than willing to share development information and ideas and collaborate with other regions to enhance opportunities for all Ghanaians. In this regard, we wish the “Patriots for the Protection of Western Region Heritage” and other regions the very best in their own development efforts. There is much work to be done in Ghana – provision of basic water and sanitation and employment for the rural and urban poor is of paramount importance and that should be the focus and concern of all Ghanaians Therefore, we will work with all Ghanaians to reduce the ethnic tensions that are diverting attention from important development goals.

Land and Other Rights: In conclusion, we ask that you all read the following extracts on land rights and consider the implications of asking one particular ethnic group to give up its land and other rights. Like we said before the Ga and Dangme people are not prepared to give up their land and other rights -- it just will not happen -- so we had all better get used to it!

“Land is a key component of the wealth of any nation. Throughout history, virtually all civilizations have spent considerable time defining land rights and establishing institutions to administer them. Well-defined, secure, and transferable rights to land are crucial to development efforts. In developing countries, most land is used for agricultural production, a mainstay of economic sustenance. The possession of land rights also typically ensures a baseline of shelter and food supply and allows people to turn latent assets into live capital through entrepreneurial activity. Once secure in their land rights, rural households invest to increase productivity. Moreover, the use of land as a primary investment vehicle allows households to accumulate and transfer wealth between generations. The ability to use land rights as collateral for credit helps create a stronger investment climate and land rights are thus, at the level of the economy, a pre-condition for the emergence and operation of financial markets. Property rights to land are one of the cornerstones for the functioning of modern economies.”[1] - Land Policies for Growth and Poverty Reduction, by World Bank “Development is fundamentally a process of change. Central to this is the increasing productivity and intensity of agriculture, of people shifting from farms to industry and services, and from the countryside to towns and cities. Secure land tenure, especially for poor people and for women, whose land rights are very often ignored, is a key recondition for this, as is the ability to exchange land rights at low-cost.”

- Nicholas Stern, Former Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, World Bank

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[1] Land Policies for Growth and Poverty Reduction. Published May 2003 by World Bank ISBN: 0-8213-5071-4 SKU: 15071, http://publications.worldbank.org.

Signed,

Audrey Sophia Naa Amuah Quaye - Member, GaDangme Global Alliance* (GDGA)

Supporters:

Titus Evans (“BISHOP T”) - Member, GaDangme Global Alliance* (GDGA)

Nikoi Kotey (“Bikome”)

James Nii Djan Lamptey – Member, GDGA and GaDangme International** (USA & Canada)

Edward Nii Narku Owoo - Member, GaDangme Global Alliance

Clement Quartey

Eddie Nii Asuana Quartey – Member, GDGA and GaDangme International (USA & Canada)

Victoria Naa Foowah Quartey - Member, GDGA and GaDangme Europe

Ofosuah Quaynor - Member, GaDangme Global Alliance

*GaDangme Global Alliance is an unincorporated nonprofit think tank that was formed to focus attention on the development needs of the Ga and Dangme Traditional areas of Ghana.

**GaDangme International and GaDangme Europe are nonprofit organisations of GaDangme persons located in the Diaspora.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the persons noted above are their personal opinions do not represent the views of the organisations noted above.