Interesting information being picked on grounds regarding the true ownership and the supposed attacks on land owners at Cantonment near the AU Village is bringing finality to the whole issue.
Although there have been some media reports to that effect, it has emerged that those reports were far from the truth as the original owners of the piece of land in contention have been found.
Painstaking investigations conducted by this paper to unravel the truth behind the recent claims of demolition and attacks under police protection regarding a piece of land (Plot M1, M2, M3 and M4) in contention between DHM Construction Limited, a Chinese owned company and a Ghanaian businessman, have revealed that DHM Construction Limited is the lawful owners of the said property.
It has emerged that, contrary to claims by the Ghanaian Ghanaian businessman in his Affidavit to the Court in a matter over the property, that he acquired the property through a lease agreement on September 26, 2021for Plots M1 and M2 and subsequently applied for a sub-lease of Plots M3 and M4, DHM Construction Limited had already acquired the property in 2020 with all payments duly made.
Documents in possession of this paper confirm that DHM Construction Limited purchased Eight (8) plots of land in that area, Plots M1 to M8, and after acquiring all the necessary documentation and lease, begun construction works on M3 and M4.
However, in 2021, a group of persons including land guards were deployed onto the land to attack the Chinese workers who were working on the land; amid demolition of their properties.
Information has it that the said land guards were deployed by the Ghanaian businessman who was laying claim to the portions of the land.
In an attempt to execute his inordinate acts, he led his boys to construct a fence wall round the piece of land; all in one night.
However, there was heavy downpour which collapsed the freshly constructed fence wall.
Checks further revealed that the said the said businessman reported to the police alleging that his wall had been demolished and the police arrested an Interpreter of the Chinese workers who was later granted bail.
Error @ Lands Commission
It was however established that, the Lands Commission had in error, plotted the disputed plots of land to the said Sebastian.
However, the Ministry of Lands on July 20, 2022, wrote to the Lands Commission to address the issue, and in its letter dated July 26, 2022, the Lands Commission admitted wrongly plotting Plots No. M1 and M2 to the Ghanaian businessman.
It said in its letter to the businessman that, “The Commission inadvertently reallocated Plot Nos. M1 and M2 to you in 2021…”
Subsequently, both parties were advised to stop work on the said plots of land until the determination of the case, but information is that the 1st Defendant (the businessman) continues to develop the land in gross disregard to the orders of the Court and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
Police Sources
Checks from the police however revealed that, the Defendants in the case involving the original Plaintiffs in the matter when they reported DHM Construction Limited to the police, made it clear to the Commander that, the contention at the site was not over ownership but the level of floors of the building DHM is constructing, which they thought was too high.
It was established at the meeting with the Regional Police Command that, since the contention was about the level of floors, the best to do was to appeal to DHM Construction Limited to reduce its number of floors; which they initially planned at eight floors.
Attempts to get the Airport company to nullify its permit for DHM however failed hence, the Lands Commission had no choice but to write to DHM appealing to it to reduce its building floors which the company agreed to. DHM Construction Limited based on that is now doing Five out of the Eight Floors originally planned; this paper has gathered.
Meanwhile, there have been frantic efforts by opposing parties to paint a bad picture of DHM Construction Limited and its management and trying to pitch residents against the company.
Interestingly, available documents have exonerated DHM of any wrongdoings as regards ownership of plots of land at Cantonments in Accra.
