The Victims of Sraha East in Adjei Kojo, a suburb of Tema whose properties were demolished by the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) have expressed their frustration over the poor work being carried out by the committee set up in the sharing of the lands to its rightful owners.
According to them, the high rate of corruption in the country, they believed have influenced the committee members to do what was unthinkable.
It is alleged that the committee set up, numbering about forty (40) shared the said land which was meant for the victims, to their family members, friends, co-workers and among others who does not have houses at Sraha East at the time the demolishing exercise took place but have now apportioned lands leaving the real victims ajar.
They are however calling on the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to revisit the demolition exercise by setting up a Commission of Enquiry to investigate the past TDC administration as far as their action at Sraha East and Solomon City is a concern.
In a press conference organized by the victims in Tema, the spokesperson for the group, Mr. Humphrey Daniel Banini indicated that, before the incident, there was nothing like the Church of Pentecost owing a parcel of land in the area but today as a result of the irresponsible conduct of the committee members, the Church of Pentecost now owns a parcel of the land which belongs to the victims.
`TDC has been involved in the unlawful land seizures and these callous moves must not be allowed to continue under His Excellency President Akufo-Addo` he noted.
Mr. Humphrey Banini said, `We the victims of Sraha East consider the action of the Committee as a deliberate move to deny the real victims. This is because we have seen Mr. William Koso, who was supervising the Geodetic Engineer at TDC and one Mr. Eli in the company of Mr. Obed Asiedu, coming to the area on several occasions in the night with a torchlight to demarcate portions of the land for sale to unknown persons in the area`.
He queried why would the committee members give out a parcel of land belonging to Sraha East to those in Solomon City?
Again, was it the decision of the TDC? The only thing we believe could have influenced this action of the committee is corruption if not then we demand an explanation.
He explained that `We the victims of Sraha East are not ready and we repeat were not ready to share our lands with anybody who was not affected by the demolishing exercise.
He, however, called on the President to intervene to resolve the matter once and for all adding that it’s as a result of the irresponsible conduct of TDC some of the victims have died prematurely while others are also going through emotional torture.
The committee was formed to share about 11.50 acres of lands which was compensated to the victims after the Tema Development Corporate demolished their properties rendering them homeless since 21st and 22nd January, 2014.
The committee comprised of Honorable Irene Naa Torshie Addo the former Member of Parliament (MP) for Tema West Constituency, Mr. James E.K Dadson, Former Greater Accra Regional Land Officer( Chairman of the Committee), Mr. Abdul Munim Yakubu, General Manager (Finance & Administration, TDC),
The rest include Mr. William Koso (Supervising& Geodetic Engineer, TDC), Mr Romeo E. Akahoho (Assemblyman for Adjei Kojo), Mr. Sevlo Agyei (TMA representative), Mr Francis Dzivenu, a representative of Sraha East Victims and Mr. Obed Asiedu, a representative of Solomon City victims.
