By Richard Attenkah
Madam Betty Akumatey, a Lecturer at the Sociology Department of the University of Ghana, Legon, has called on the chiefs and elders of Tema to put in place proper documentation that would protect their interests when it comes to the sale of lands in the area.
According to her, without proper documentation of their lands, people would continue to find ways and means to deprive them of their rights to their lands.
She disclosed that the lack of proper documentation to protect lands in the area in particular, and the Greater Accra Region as a whole, is the reason why there are so many land litigation cases across the region.
Madam Betty Akumatey made the call at the second Annual Homowo Lecture, organised by the Concerned Indigenous Citizens of Tema, in collaboration with the Tema Traditional Council (TTC), under the theme “Protection of Ga-Dangme lands with particular interest in Tema.”
She appealed to the chiefs and elders of Tema to consider instituting a reconciliation process to bring all indigenes of Tema together.
According to her, such a process would help settle all outstanding disputes and disagreements among the indigenes of the area, saying reconciliation is a gradual and continues process that brings people together under a common identity.
The Legon Lecturer explained that reconciliation sets people free from mental torture, adding that indigenes of Tema should be able to tolerate each other, and be able to let go their differences.
She noted that cheating is the fundamental trigger for conflict, adding, community resources are for the social good for all the people, and not an individual’s personal interest.
The Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, Isaac Ashai Odamtten, called on the citizens of Tema to practice good hygiene to ensure that they live healthy lives to avoid spending their hard-earned money on hospital bills and drugs.
According to him, it is only when they keep their environments and surroundings clean, that they can live lives that would help protect them from contracting cholera, which has become a national canker in recent times.
The TMA boss explained that the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA), in collaboration with Zoomlion, would be providing every household in Tema Manhean with a 240-litre bin.
Until 1951, Tema used to be a small fishing village located at the former Meridian Hotel site, with a geographical scope of 64 square miles.
The inhabitants of old Tema were resettled three miles east wards to make way for the construction of a new port and harbour to meet the demand for modernisation and industrialisation.
The rightful owners of the Tema land are presently settled at Tema Manhean, a fishing community along the Atlantic Ocean, eastwards of the Tema township.