Press Release: Petition regarding the Marine Drive Project

HOLD FOR RELEASE UNTIL DECEMBER 1st, 2016

PROPOSED MARINE DRIVE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT PROJECT: REQUEST TO

EXTEND NOTICE DEADLINE, HOLD PUBLIC HEARINGS, AND ADDRESS COMMUNITY

NEEDS AND INTERESTS

Accra, Ghana, December 1st, 2016 – While we appreciate the Ghana Government’s effort

to utilize the coastal land from Marine Drive in Osu to Baden Powell Hall in Ga Mashie to

develop a tourism industry in Accra, we have legitimate concerns about the design of the

proposed project, and the exclusion of some of the allodial land owners from discussions

about the tourism project. We are particularly concerned about the plan to acquire 243

acres of the land, and use it primarily for the tourism project while the neighboring

communities of Osu, Ga Mashie, and Jamestown have dire needs for real affordable

housing, schools, clinics, fish markets and related facilities, and a cultural and heritage

centre.

Therefore, the GaDangme Council, the Ga Dangme Muslim Council, and an alliance of

GaDangme organisations located in Ghana and abroad have obtained signatures from over

600 Ghanaians and friends of Ghana located in Ghana and abroad, and written to H.E.

President John D. Mahama to:

1. Extend the deadline of the Notice for submission of claims, as specified in E.I. 59 STATE

LANDS – ACCRA-OSU - (SITE FOR MARINE DRIVE INVESTMENT PROJECT) INSTRUMENT,

2016, to June 30th

, 2017, and increase access to and transparency of the project

information to all stakeholders, and the people of Ghana;

2. Hold Public Hearings in the Ga, Osu and Jamestown communities to properly inform

community members via written, verbal, and visual information about the Marine Drive

Project, and elicit input, and address concerns;

3. Only lease and do not outright sell any public land to foreign investors, in accordance

with Article 266 of the 1992 Constitution. In addition, under Article 20 (1) of the 1992

Constitution the Government can only acquire privately held land from allodial owners

for public benefit and not for sale to private and foreign investors;

4. Scale back the extent of the acreage for the Marine Drive Project, and instead develop

the remaining acreage for the indigenous Osu and Ga peoples to meet their dire

communal needs;

5. Include local content, culture, images, and symbols in the proposed tourism project;

recruit and hire indigenous artisans, contractors, and community members to

participate in the project; and

6. Consult and liaise with a Committee comprising representatives of the Ga, Osu and

Jamestown Traditional Councils, GaDangme organizations, and community leaders to

elicit their input and feedback to ensure that they are informed about developments

and progress of the Marine Drive project.

GaDangme Development Trust Fund: In addition, consider as a priority institutionalizing

30% equity in all private developments on public lands acquired in the Ga and Dangme

traditional areas to a GaDangme Development Trust Fund. Funds accrued by the Trust will

be used for development, education and promotion of GaDangme culture and heritage,

including the welfare of our chiefs.

The Government’s continual selling of public lands, acquired compulsorily from the Ga and

Dangme people, to private interests without any benefits to the original allodial owners, is

not only confrontational and insensitive but it does not bode well for peace in Ghana. It

exacerbates the tensions and legitimate anxieties that have arisen about the handling of

Ga and Dangme lands acquired by the Gold Coast and Ghana governments.

We hope that the Ghana Government can develop a blueprint on how to properly handle

development issues and engage affected communities in a sensitive, open and

consultative manner that is consistent with relevant provisions of the 1992 Constitution,

existing statutes, rules and regulations, and principles embodied in the UN Declaration of

the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP); and based on mutual respect and cooperation.

That will help promote good governance for the maintenance of peace and security in

Ghana.

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