Assembly clashes with Omanhene over lands

Ejisu (Ash) July 13, GNA - The Ejisu-Juaben Municipal Assembly has petitioned the Ashanti Regional Minister to urgently intervene in its dispute over land with the Omanhene of Ejisu for an amicable settlement to be reached.

The assembly has accused Oguakro Afrane Okese, IV, of allocating a portion of its land to a developer and authorizing its development without obtaining its permission. But the Omanhene has denied any wrong doing, and described the allegations as baseless because the land was owned by the traditional council.

Additionally, they allege the chief has caused some buildings to be levelled without recourse to the Municipal Planning Authority. The Presiding Member, Mr Nicholas Owusu-Sekyere, in a signed petition to the Minister, stated that the assembly was mandated by Act 462 to prosecute anybody who flouts building regulations but given Nana Afrane Okese's position as Omanhene, they wanted the direction of the Minister. It said attempts by the Assembly and its technocrats to draw attention to the unacceptable actions of the Omanhene, which were tantamount to interfering in the assembly's core statutory functions had been unsuccessful. The petition challenged the contention by chiefs that: "Stool lands belonged to them" and said this position is unsupported by the law.

Article 267 (1) of the 1992 states that, "All stool lands in Ghana shall vest in the appropriate stool on behalf of, and in trust of the subjects of the stool in accordance with customary law and usage," it quoted. Again, it quoted Clause (3) of the same article which says: "There shall be no disposition or development of any stool land unless the Regional Land Commission of the region in which the land is situated has certified that the disposition or development is consistent with the development plan drawn up or approved by the planning authority for the area concern."

Clause (5) of article 267, adds that: "Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, no interest in, or right over, any stool land in Ghana shall be created which vests in any person or body of persons a freehold interest howsoever described." The assembly, therefore, questioned the basis of the assumption by chiefs that stool lands were their personal property. Nana Afrane Okese, however, dismissed the assembly's petition as unjustifiable. He argued that, the assembly technically did not own any land in the Municipality and that all the lands belonged to the Ejisu Traditional Council. The Omanhene told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that he had, indeed, given out part of the land to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for the establishment of an office. 13 July 10