| Plans by the Ministry of Harbours and Railways to clear squatters who are living dangerously along some rail lines in Accra could face serious challenges. |
This follows allegations that the land on which they live has been sold to them by officials of the Ghana Railway Company (GRC). Part of the land is also being claimed by the Duncan Family at Ofankor (Mile 11) who has accused officials of the GRC of selling all the land 50 feet from the rail line to third parties for use as garages, banks and private development.
But a civil engineer with the company in Accra, Mr Michael Adjei Anyetei, explained that the pieces of land were leased to the private developers for periods spanning 50 and 60 years and not sold outright.
He said some of the people to whom land was leased were mechanics from Alajo who were relocated following the construction of the Kumasi-Nsawan road.
He also said the claim by the Duncan Family to parcels of the land along the rail lines could not be true because the government acquired the land in 1903 and had since paid compensation to the affected family.
Mr Anyetei supported his claim with site plans from the Lands Department and explained to the Daily Graphic that the land along the lines was released to the private developers for temporary use and that the structures erected on it could be demolished if the GRC intended to develop those areas.
However, the Head of the Duncan Family, Mr S.Q. Duncan, in letters addressed to the managing director of the GRC, said the family would “vehemently oppose the encroachers by any means at our disposal”.
According to Mr Duncan, his family acquired 19.03 acres of land opposite the John Teye Memorial School at Mile 11, a portion of which was acquired by the GRC in 1909, measuring 100 metres east and west from the centre of the rail line.
He said recently certain encroachers, quoting the GRC as the donor, had been using land guards to harass the occupants of the land and claiming that portions of the company’s land been given to them.
Mr Duncan said it was impossible for any vehicle to reach where the garages were located without trespassing on the land between the Nsawam road and the rail line.
He said the family’s position had the support of the Executive Secretary of the Lands Commission.
Concerns have been raised over the citing of structures within 50 feet of the rail lines, with several warnings from the sector ministry going to people living in such places to vacate their structures.
The concerns have been expressed over the years, with warnings to developers undertaking constructional works on state lands to cease any further development and vacate the sites, but not much has been done in terms of enforcement.
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