By Cletus Abaare
F.A. Global Estate Ghana Limited Boss, a Real Estate Developer, based in Zenu-Adeka, in the Kpone Katamanso District, Mr Adu Francis King has vehemently denied one Kumah Frank aka De Gangster, a 25-year old man who was described in a story carried by the DailyGuide Newspaper as a Managing Director of his company, FA Global Estate.
Mr King, who spoke to Awakeonline.com in an interview recently, said the said person, described in the story which was also published on many online portals including Ghanaweb.com as the Managing Director of his company does not even work with the company and cautioned the public not to engage in any business transaction with such with a person in the name of F.A. Global Estate Ghana Limited.
“I read the story recently which was mainly about the arrest of some landguards in Appolonia, describing one of those who were arrested, one Kumah Frank aka De Gangster, as the Managing Director of my company and I was shock. That person, mentioned in the story is not a worker in my company and has nothing to do with F.A Global Ghana Limited. I am therefore, cautioning the general public especially potential land buyers not to deal with such a person in the name of my company. I am the Chief Executive Officer of the company has no Managing Director”, the young CEO said.
The young CEO of one of the fastest growing Real Estate companies in the district and its surrounding areas, therefore, called on the police and other security agencies to put in more efforts to stop the continuous existence of land guards in the country especially developing areas within the greater Accra region.
Mr King said, the continuous existence of land guards and their dangerous activities in the country, was posing a serious threat to the Real Estate industry as well as hampering the industry players’ efforts of contributing their quota to helping solve the huge housing deficit in the country.
He noted that such acts of lawlessness and indiscipline on the part of individuals who under the pretext of protecting their lands without documentary prove or backing, mobilising young men and resourcing them with all kinds of offensive weapons to cause mayhem and terrorise innocent people immensely undermines law and order and must be dealt with accordingly by the police.
He said land cases are fought at the relevant Land Management Offices, such as Land Title Registry, Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands (OASL) or taking civil action at the law courts for redress and not the deployment of young men with dangerous weapons to cause havoc to innocent citizens.
“The endeavour to own a house does not only give the owner peace of mind but also serves as a worthy investment. The prices of houses, unlike those of other investments, appreciate and investors in the housing sector always have value for money but now putting up a house after acquiring a piece land has now become very risky due to the existence these criminal groups which must be eliminated immediately” , he stated.
He noted that people have always had it tough building on the land they acquire legally with the proper documents such as land title certificates due to the phenomenon of other people laying claim to same parcel of land without any documentary prove or backing. This, he said, must be addressed to give confidence to potential land buyers wanting to put up houses to lay their heads.
“Even when people buy lands with the right documents, it becomes increasingly difficult to build, as a result of the menace of land guards, who not only intimidate them but also attack them with machetes, guns and other offensive weapons. Many people who have acquired pieces of land through their sweat have had to abandon them because of threats to their lives”, the CEO furthered almost in tears.
Mr King, who owns over four thousand acres of land across the region, tasked the security agencies especially the police to step up their game to help deal with the menace of land guards in the society.
He noted that, although, a year back, the Police Administration set up a land guard squad to deal with the canker of land guards which was followed up with the establishment of the Property Fraud Unit at the Criminal Investigations Department to help address the problem of multiple sale of land and fraudulent land documentation but he was unconvinced if those two units are living up to their expectations.
“We at the real Estate industry and Ghanaians in general are yet to see the benefits of these two units, as the land guards still operate with relative ease and possibly with the knowledge of some security personnel. But I think, it is high time the security agencies, particularly the police, reactivated those two units and empowered the personnel to deal with this social canker’’, he underscored.
Mr King said armed the land guards do not only use those arms to terrorise land owners and developers but they also use same guns at night to undertake robbery and other violent criminal activities adding that “is my believe that we must all stand up and support the police administration to fight against these miscreants in our society”.
He also challenged chiefs and other custodians of land to desist from the multiple sale of land and adhere strictly to the laws of the land.
The F.A. Global Estate Ghana Limited Boss further urged the Lands Commission and other land regulatory bodies to sit up and do the right thing, as, more often than not, they provide the fertile ground for the land guard menace to thrive.
