Abesim residents protest indiscriminate sale, destruction of properties

Residents of Abesim Monday took to the streets to protest what they called ‘the indiscriminate sale and destruction of properties’ on plots of land by people alleged to be agents of the Dormaa Stool Lands Secretariat.

Abesim forms the Kyidom Division of the Dormaa Traditional Area.

Citizens of the town alleged that agents of the traditional area had been going about with a grader to destroy buildings at various stages of completion and extorting money from owners of the plots, although the owners had documents covering their plots.

Demonstration

Wearing red apparel and armbands, the demonstrators paraded through the entire six-kilometre highway from the town to the Sunyani Barrier, amid drumming, singing and tooting of car horns.

Their action led to a traffic jam on the busy Sunyani-Kumasi road, since drivers entering and leaving Sunyani were compelled to use only one side of the road for more than two hours.

Some of the placards they carried read: “Only plots for houses”, “No schools, no toilets, no markets, no hospitals; is this legacy for our children?”, “We need accountability for our lands”.

Some of the demonstrators interviewed alleged that the agents of the Dormaahene were going about destroying cement blocks and heaps of sand on the plots.
They said the perpetrators had explained that their actions were based on the fact that the plot owners had not completed their buildings three years after obtaining the plots.

Petition

In a four-point petition signed by one of the assembly members of the town, Mr Joshua Akonnor Owusu, and addressed to the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister and other authorities, the demonstrators said plots of land belonging to citizens of the town were being confiscated by the Dormaa Stool Lands Secretariat.

They stated that the plots of land in the town were being demarcated without making provision for social amenities such as schools, hospitals, markets, refuse dumps and recreational facilities.

The petition made reference to some areas which were earmarked for social amenities but had been sold to some people for residential purposes.