Scores of Students poured onto the streets of Accra yesterday to stage a huge demonstration against government and Lands Commission on plans to sell a parcel of land on which Ghana School of Surveying and Mapping is situated.
The demonstration which began at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, drew students from Ghana Union of Professional Students (GUPS) and GSSM, who chanted war songs on their way to express their disagreement with Land Commission’s decision to sell off their lands until the demonstration ended at Hearts Park, near the Arts Centre in Accra.
Clad in black and red, the demonstrators carried placards with inscriptions such as ‘we will not move ooo’, ‘Mahama is this part of the free education’ and many others.
In a petition addressed to Speaker of Parliament, Edward Doe Adjaho, and received on his behalf by Emmanuel Animadu, a Clerk to Parliament stated that the school is one of a kind which has trained almost all surveyors in the country, hence lands commission’s plan could affect a long way jeopardize surveying in the country.
Reading the petition after converging at the Hearts Park, Light Agbemordzie, Student Representative Council President of GSSM pointed out that they would only move if a well- structured building with other facilities are given them.
”If the Lands Commission insists on moving us, that can only happen when they have made provision for a site registered in the name of the school with well-constructed classroom buildings, hostel rooms, computer laboratory, school library, administrative offices, auditorium, sports facilities which meets the standards of National Accreditation Board(NAB) and NABPTEX for re-accreditation. There should also be enough space to enhance the hands-on survey and mapping practicals”, he stated categorically.
He noted that the proposal to reside the school temporarily at the Valuation and Estate Division premises by management needs a reconsideration in terms of safety and health, given that the area falls within the flight zone.
“….the Lands Commission cannot just drive us out like “SQUATTERS” without making any provisions for us not even considering the fees we have paid as students of this institution”, he indicated
Agbemordzie therefore appealed to H.E John Dramani Mahama, the Sector Minister Hon. Nii Osah Mills, and the leadership of Ghana’s legislature to use his good offices to address these pertinent issues immediately.
President of GUPS, Elorm Mawuli-Kwaku for his part noted that the student body had exhausted all diplomatic avenues, written petitions and had meetings with all stakeholders but yielded no results, a situation that informed their diplomatic radicalism (demonstration)
He however, hinted of securing a restraining order to halt Lands commission actions if government and parliament fail to heed to their plea within a week.
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