Two assemblies fight over boundary demarcation

long-standing dispute on boundary demarcation and tax revenues between Ga South Municipal Assembly in Greater Accra region and Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly in Central region is far from over, Today can report.

Recently, the Ga South Municipal Chief Executive (MCE,) Mr. Jerry Akwei Thompson, according to sources close the assembly, threatened to institute a legal action against prospective land developers/buyers and residents of Kasoa Iron City and its adjoining communities. For his reason, this paper was told that some people had acquired building permits and also paid property rates to Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly instead of the Ga South Municipality.

He intimated that he could not understand why the Awutu-Senya District would continue to trespass on the jurisdiction of the Ga municipality when in actual fact there was a defined demarcation separating the two assemblies.

Speaking in an interview with Today, the Ga South MCE explained that the existing Legislative Instrument (LI) 2134 (2012) of the Local Government that created the districts earmarked clear administrative boundaries between the two district assemblies but the Awutu Senya district assembly keeps pushing its boundary which was creating problems for the Ga South municipality.

To this end, Mr. Thompson warned officials of the Awutu Senya Municipal Assembly to stop claiming ownership of Kasoa Iron City Land, as the said land was not within the administrative jurisdiction of Awutu Senya Municipal Assembly.

“I would like to put on records that the Legislative Instrument (LI) 2134 (2012) of the Local Government Act that established the Ga South Municipal Assembly spelt out clearly that the Kasoa Iron City Land formed part of lands within the Ga South Municipality and not Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly as it was being reported always by media houses in Ghana.

"...so from today I would like to advise all prospective land buyers/developers who want to purchase land at Kasoa Iron City and want to acquire legal building permit to endeavour to contact the Ga South Municipal Assembly for the right permit to avoid falling foul of the law," Mr. Akwei advised.

"The areas which fall within the administrative jurisdiction of Ga South Municipality Assembly which was set up in 2007 are Okoman,Odunkwa, Ashalaja, Kwame Anum, Obakrowa, Krohohwe, Hobor, Adiembra, Asabade, Ngleshie Amanfrom, Torhuse, Iron City, Amanfro Top, Amanfro Kingtown and Machigeni.

"...others included Galilea, Omankope, Tomefa, Workers Brigade, Bortiano, Old Aklaku, New Galilea, Galilea North, Tsokomey, Faajimore, Wiejoshie and Shiayena," the Ga South MCE revealed.

He complained that though officials of Awutu Senya Municipal Assembly were aware of these demarcations, revenue collectors from Awutu Senya Municipal Assembly still go beyond these areas to collect revenues.

According to Mr. Akwei Thompson, since the establishment of Awutu Senya Municipal Assembly, it has been deceiving land developers in Kasoa Iron City and its adjoining communities into believing that they could acquire appropriate building permit or documents from the assembly which, hitherto, was making things difficult for land developers who were supposed to acquire genuine building permit from the Ga South Municipality.

Mr. Akwei Thompson in the interview was reacting to the publication that appeared in the New Weekend Crusading Guide newspaper on Friday, February 27, 2015 edition with the headline: "Ga South MCE Terrorizes Kasoa Iron City Residents."

The story accused the Ga South MCE of ordering fifteen (15) military men on Wednesday, February 18, 2015 to raze down buildings and structures of residents of Kasoa Iron City for identifying themselves as part of Awutu Senya Municipality instead of Ga South Municipal Assembly."

But in a quick response, Mr. Akwei Thompson flatly denied the allegations to the effect that he was using a team of armed military men to terrorise residents of Kasoa Iron City as reported by the paper.

And without mincing words, the Ga South MCE stated that: "I am not a terrorist, but I am working as a concerned citizen of Ghana as well as the Ga South Municipal Executive and Chairman of the Development Planning Committee of Ga South Municipal Assembly to ensure that land developers in Kasoa Iron City abide by the laid-down building regulations to save lives and properties of the Ga South Municipality."

According to him, his visit to Kasoa Iron City on that Wednesday was due to the information he received from some residents of the area that somebody was putting a four-storey building for a private school without appropriate building permit/documents from Ga South Municipal Assembly.

Mr. Akwei Thompson disclosed that when he went to the site of the project, he requested for the building permit and the structural drawing plan of the building.

He continued that workers and the developer, Madam Georgina Nortey, failed to produce any document as they claimed the documents were with the Awutu Senya Municipal Assembly.

"Look (referring to this reporter) I told the woman and her workers that it was wrong to build without the necessary documents and I therefore ordered them to stop work until further notice. This was exactly what I told the woman and her workers and invited her to come and meet me at the Ga South Municipal Assembly office,” he recounted.