President Akufo-Addo has
given assurance that his administration will compensate the chiefs and people
of Osu for lands that have been taken from them for the Marine Drive Project.
The $1.2 billion Marine Drive
Project would see the development of the coastal line into a tourism and
investment hub.
It’s expected to employ not
less than 150,000 people.
The 10-year development
project is a public-private partnership situated on 248 acres of land.
Even though the project is
yet to commence, the chiefs of Osu have called on government to expedite action
on the payment of the compensation.
The chiefs raised the concern
when they paid a courtesy call on President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House on Friday.
The Osu Mantɛ, Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI, who made the request,
claimed he and his elders had been accused of receiving the compensation
clandestinely.
In his response, President
Akufo-Addo indicated that the issue of compensation was a matter of law and
should not lead to the splitting of heads since it was their right.
He, therefore, directed the
Minister for Chieftaincy and Culture, Kofi Dzamesi to liase with the Ministers
of Tourism and Finance to expedite action on the payment.
The President welcomed the
resolve of the chiefs to ensure that this year’s Homowo festival celebration would
be incident-free and pledged government’s backing in that regard.
He also lauded a suggestion
by Nii Dowuona, who is also President of the Greater Accra Regional House of
Chiefs, for traditional councils to be allowed to have oversight over chieftaincy
and traditional events.
He asked the Chieftaincy
Minister to discuss the issue for legislation, if need be.
“Once traditional councils have been created for these paramountcies, issues pertaining to traditional issues, chieftaincy and everything, permissions or letters should be routed through the traditional councils. By so doing, we believe that it will minimize lots of chieftaincy issues,” Nii Kinka Dowuona VI added.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent
The post Akufo-Addo Assures Osu Chiefs Over Land appeared first on DailyGuide Network.
