In Ga communities, the unlawful selling of land has fueled ongoing conflict between family members and the rightful proprietors.
As a result, Henry Quartey, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, has advised chiefs in the region to put an end to the indiscriminate sale of lands.
Coupling with giving the region a bad name, the minister says the rate at which chiefs in Accra sell lands is stifling the needed development the region deserves.
“The chiefs take four acres of land and then exchange it for 4×4 vehicles. The outsiders will use those lands for real estate development and sell them to others to the region’s disadvantage. Not only that, there are a lot of buildings and houses in the region, but the landlords have rented them all out for commercial purposes. Some have also been leased for 40 or 50 years to non-indigenes.”
Addressing the 2021 Homowo Lecture series in Accra, the Greater Accra Regional Minister also lamented the indiscriminate land sale coupled with the attendant issues of rent and land litigation.
“Some private individuals are also selling lands in Ga communities for US$300,000 to Chinese nationals. If they are unable to pay too, then they exchange the lands with cars. There are also about 30,000 land litigation issues at the court involving Ga Chiefs. No wonder, there are some communities with about four chiefs,” he said.
This has increased the demand for land guards in the region.
Some parcels of lands meant for socio-economic activities in these areas have at times been lost to external developers to the detriment of the indigenes.
The lands are sometimes sold without explanation to the town folks; a situation they find quite worrying.
There are days such issues have led to community protests.
“Once more, I beg you, the chiefs, to stop selling the [Accra] lands,” Mr. Quartey pleaded.