Source: Ben LARYEA
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr. Henry Quartey in the entourage of Regional Security Council (REGSEC) has supervised the demolition of hundreds of authorised houses and structures on the 200 acre land of the Animal Research Institute (ARI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Institute (CSIR) at Frafraha in Greater Accra Region.
The exercise which also had the support from the Adentan Municipal Assembly started at 4am with scores of bulldozes and other earth moving machines demolished buildings, makeshift structures, fenced plots among others by encroachers.
The said land was acquired by government in 1976 under an executive instrument (E. 1.38) for the Animal Research Institute of CSIR on a land stretching over 1,000 acres at Adentan – Frafraha with the primary purpose of conducting research into the development and transfer of livestock and poultry technologies to support public and private bodies in the animal husbandry value chain to sustain food security for the country.
When newsmen arrived at the Institute, land guards have broken the fence protecting the buildings and properties as cattles were grazing and monitored by herdsmen, illegal connection of electricity, water, thoroughfare by encroachers and people from all walks of life from the adjoining communities.
Briefing the media shortly after the demolition, Mr. Henry Quartey who arrived at the institute with a helicopter and protected by armed security personnel sounded a note of warning to encroachers invading lands with impunity saying that the law will ruthlessly deal with them.
He said the gesture falls in line with the 48 hours given to encroachers to vacate the 200 acre land and revealed the government acquired the land covering 1330 acres upon which 900 have been encroached with close to 3 to 4000 houses and structures have been built on it.
He said houses built outside the 200 acre fence by landlords should quickly engage the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and its related agencies for their properties to be scrutinized and regularise for proper documentation.
“These are properties and structures constructed as far back as 20 to 30 years ago and again stress that the structures be regularised to claim ownership” he further added.
“CSIR have the mandate to own back the lands for their respective works hence it was secured by government to continue the research and development programmes on livestock for sustainable growth for food security.
It would be recalled that management and staff of the Animal Research Institute of the CSIR embarked on series of demonstrations concerning the manner at which their lands were sold by unscrupulous people and clandestine activities of land guards towards workers of the institute.
