Woodfields Development Company has sounded the alarm over what it described as deliberate sabotage and fraudulent land grabs threatening its $20.5 million investment at Chrematinville, Borteyman.
Speaking passionately Iin a charged press briefing in Accra, Benard Kusi Appau, Director of Operations and Public Affairs, condemned the resurgence of landguard activities and double sales on a 217-acre stretch legally secured by the company since 2003.
“The skyrocketing cost of land and housing in Ghana is partly because legitimate developers like us must first battle criminals and illegal claimants before we can even build,” Appau stressed.
According to Woodfields, the land was not stool land, but public land originally acquired by the colonial Gold Coast government. The Nungua Stool, Appau clarified, holds only a leasehold interest, not the ultimate ownership.
Woodfields’ claim, formally settled in 2012 after tough litigation and the payment of an additional $2.5 million to the Nungua Stool, has been under constant threat from encroachers and impostors allegedly backed by rogue elements.
Despite a 2021 High Court setback based on survey technicalities, Woodfields has filed an appeal and secured a stay of execution, keeping its legal claim intact. Appau insisted that rule of law must prevail if Ghana’s real estate sector is to thrive.
“We must stop rewarding lawlessness. Developers who follow due process deserve protection, not persecution,” he charged.
Founded in 2003 by Samuel Kyeremateng, Woodfields is part of Groupe Chrematin, a leading real estate group headed by legal luminary Nana Odeneho Kyeremateng. Appau also sought to clear public confusion, noting that Woodfields is distinct from its sister company, Comet Properties Ltd.
The press conference closed with a forceful call on the government and judiciary: “Protect legitimate investment. Ghana’s future depends on it.”
