Oquaye raises red flag

…Over Achimota school lands
Posted: The Chronicle |Thursday, February 04, 2010

By Charles Takyi-Boadu

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Dome-Kwabenya constituency in the Greater Accra region, Professor Mike Oquaye has expressed grave concern about the level of encroachment on the Achimota school lands by private developers. This follows a directive by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), asking for the closure of the School, due to a collapse of its sewerage system.
Making a statement on the floor of Parliament yesterday, Prof. Oquaye said the problem has been caused by encroachers who are building at what he described as ‘satanic speed’ on the part of the School land called ‘the Folly’, where the entire sewerage system has been channeled, since the time of Guggisberg.

Though not a product of the school, Prof. Oquaye, who is also the second deputy Speaker of Parliament said he was struck by what he saw when he visited the school to have a first hand information about developments in the school.

“People are building unlawfully on the main channels, causing the system to collapse”, he said, stressing that “any serious Ghanaian who cares to visit the school will see the broken main sewage lines, leakage of human excreta and liquid waste, plus the foul stench which engulfs the atmosphere. As a result, the School poultry farm has since collapsed.”

For this reason, the veteran politician has called on President Mills to salvage his own alma mater, the Achimota School, since according to him “the school lands are vested in the President of Ghana.” He stressed the urgent need for government to compulsorily acquire all houses built on the school land and give it back to the school, asking government to set up a Commission to identify ‘bona fide’ purchasers and compensate them accordingly.

As representatives of the ‘people’, Prof. Oquaye also urged Parliament as an institution to set a Committee to look into the issue and act accordingly.

Even before any such Committee is set, the Dome-Kwabenya MP asked that the security agencies to be employed to save Achimota School, describing it as a national heritage. “The school is associated with Nkrumah, Busia, Akufo Addo, Rawlings, Atta Mills, Jawara of Gambia and Mugabe of Zimbabwe, the school is a national heritage and a tourist attraction, it is worthy of preservation, not destruction”, he noted.

The MP recalled how in the late 1980’s, the Board of the School attempted to sell portions of the school land to private individuals, though it had no legal right to sell Achimota School lands, which are by law vested in the Head of State of Ghana. At the time, he said people were asked to come for refund of their monies when this illegal act became public.

According to him, without documents of ownership and approved plans, began to build with indecent haste.

Sometime later, he said the Owoo family who sold the land to the then Governor, Gordon Guggisberg stepped in and started selling the land they had already sold, whilst other land contractors and macho men waded in.

The resultant chaos, he said “is too indecent to recount.”

Prof. Oquaye noted that another set of encroachers expanded the assault to ‘the Foyer’ area on the southern side of the school and went to the extent of building a disco, which the school had to demolish.

That notwithstanding, he emphasized that pilfering, drug usage, drunkenness, refuse dumping and sand winning activities, which have put the lives of young school children at risk on the schools campus, should be condemned by all well-meaning Ghanaians, since in his opinion “these acts of indiscipline causes the fires and road accidents all over our dear nation.”

Furthermore, he said “any purported attempt by any person, body or authority, other than the President of Ghana, to alienate Achimota School Lands is bogus, void, illegal and of no effect”, stressing that “no building permit – not one – has been approved by the authorities.”

In the final analysis, Prof. Oquaye said “if any serious Ghanaian sits unconcerned when Achimota is bleeding, then God indeed help us all.”