The Paramount chief of the Nungua Traditional area, Odehe Kpapa King Odaifio Welentsi III, has warned unscrupulous people selling government land at the Sakumono Ramsar site to put a stop to it with immediate effect to avoid any future embarrassment.
He warned interested people who want to buy a parcel of land in the area to endeavor to crosscheck at the lands commission, with accurate documentation before making a purchase.
Speaking in an interview with the DAILY HERITAGE last Friday, King Welentsi expressed concern about the high rate of encroachment at the Ramsar site and called on government to as a matter of urgency take action before encroachers take over the land.
�I am highly worried about what is happening at the Ramsar site-government must come in quickly to save the area from encroachers.�
He said, the land in question was acquired from the Nungua stool by government many years ago, yet, it was not being used for its intended purpose for which the government signed the international agreement called the Ramsar convention.
King Welentsi III appealed to government and demanded the introduction of a task force on the Ramsar site in order to prevent further encroachment and land sales, as well as demolish all illegal structures.
He also entreated the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission to collaborate with the Security service to ensure the protection of the land for its intended purpose.
Underscoring the need to safeguard the said land, King Welentsi III advised encroachers on the land to quit, since the land in question does not belong to anybody, but government. Saying, �Ramsar site is not harvesting of land.�
Recalling the fact of the matter, he said government in 1952 obtained a huge parcel of land from the chiefs of Tema, Nungua and Kpone for the construction of Tema port and harbour city.
Afterwards, King Welentsi II hinted, the government released all the drawn out land to the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) to develop residential facilities suitable to the standard of a port city.
TDC, according to him, also released a portion of the land encircling the Sakumono lagoon, measuring 1, 365 hectors to the wildlife division of the Forestry Commission, when the government corrected the international treaty on Ramsar site on wetlands to protect the lands.
King Welentsi III, however, is demanding an immediate action from government to restore the land back to its original state or give it back to its owners (the Nungua Stool).
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