MP Raises Issues With Committee Report �On TDC Demolitions

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tema West, Hon. Irene Naa Toshie Addo has raised some critical issues with the Parliamentary Committee report on the recent demolition of over 400 homes by Tema Development Corporation(TDC) at Adjei Kojo. The Committee had been tasked by Parliament to investigate the legitimacy of TDC�s claim to the demolished site and whether due process was followed in the demolition as well as any other matter incidental thereto and to make recommendations. The Committee�s work was precipitated by an official petition put before Parliament by the Honorable Member for Tema West under whose jurisdiction the demolition took place. The Committee�s investigations saw them interrogate the Managing Director and officials of TDC, traditional rulers of the area and affected persons. They visited the demolished sites, reviewed documents available and also solicited information from Lands Commission, Surveys and Mapping Division of Lands and the National Security. Per their findings after investigations, the Committee indicated that the title to the affected area had been leased to the TDC for 125 years but some where along the line, the TDC ceded portions of the lands to the traditional rulers who in turn allocated same to some developers. T he Committee noted saying; �the problem however is that TDC did not properly demarcate the boundaries to clearly differentiate portions ceded to the Chiefs and also did not make public what portions of land was ceded to the traditional Rulers.� In the view of the Committee, the lack of publicization and proper boundaries between the the ceded portions and the rest of the acquired lands contributed to the exploitation of unsuspecting developers by some of the traditional authorities thus culminating in the present level of encroachment. But, Hon. Naa Torshie upon whose behest the committee was constituted by way of a petition was obviously not satisfied with portions of the report and went further to argue forcely on the floor of parliament her disagreement with sections of the report and recommendations therein. In an interview with the press after the report was read on the floor, the Tema West MP acknowledged that though �the Committee did some work in the report, they failed to get the crux of the matter� which for her was a critical short fall in the whole process as carried out the committee. She said, it is most incredible that the TDC is situated in the same community as the demolished homes and all these years they never did anything legal to stop or ejected the victims but watch them vigorously put up their homes only for the TDC to cruelly pull them down without justification whiles the issues were still being discussed. Quizzed as to what happens next for her and the victims in her constituency, Naa Torshie stated emphatically clear that its really not over yet and there are several avenues to seek redress even if it means coming back to parliament again or if need be she will go as far as the International Court to seek justice against what she described as inhuman treatment perpetrated by Ghanaians on their fellow Ghanaians.