Papaye expresses shock at decision to stop work in Green Belt in Tema
The owner of a land at Tema Community 7, Mr Tetteh Anang and Papaye, a fast food company, have expressed shock at a directive by the Ministry of Environment Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) ordering the stoppage of work on a legally acquired land.
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They have described the directive of the MESTI as unilateral and a by-pass of the legal structures and authority of the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) and the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA).
The MESTI last Tuesday issued a press statement ordering Papaye to stop work in a Green Belt area in Tema Community 7.
That, the statement said, followed a meeting called after residents of the Valco Park Area in Tema Community 7 had petitioned against illegal development going on in the green belt.
The ministry had additionally tasked the EPA to assess the cost of restoring the land to a green belt status and surcharge the developer, Papaye.
‘MESTI not on top of issues’
In separate interviews with the Daily Graphic, Mr Dan Agyemang Duah, spokesperson for Mr Anang and Mr Divine Asiedu, Chief Executive Officer of Papaye, said the stance and directive of the ministry was a clear indication that the ministry was not on top of issues.
According to Mr Duah, the site was granted to Mr Anang by the TDC per an indenture dated June 27, 1994 granting a 60-year lease.
The original plan, he said, had been to construct a hotel on the land.
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However, the TDC informed Mr Anang that the area had been zoned for recreational use following which a process was initiated for approval from the TDC to change the use for a hotel to the commercial purpose of building and operating a modern restaurant on one side and constructing a recreational facility on the other.
Rigorous process
Mr Duah said said Mr Anang gained approval after “a very rigorous process”, saying the TDC itself was at the centre of these procedures which included meetings with the nearby residents to sensitise them to the new development.
He said required documents such as building, fire and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) permits had all been obtained.
He said the ministry’s assertion that “a proposed project issued with an environmental permit number TMCT00136 on March 31, 2011 expired on March 30, 2013” was misplaced because that permit was for the sole purpose of acquiring a building permit from the TMA.
The said environmental permit, he said, was presented to the TMA within the stipulated time based on which the TMA also gave Mr Anang a building permit.
MESTI’s problem not clear
“So we have gone through all the formalities and I do not see the problem that the ministry has. The TDC and TMA are legal entities that have done their work and so if the ministry has any issue, it should take it up with the TDC and the TMA and not Mr Anang, who is the legitimate owner of the land”, Mr Duah said.
He further explained that the plan itself sat at the fringes of the Green Zone Belt and that as per the details of the project, they had advanced plans with the view to improving on the belt.
“The building occupies a small portion and is surrounded by mainly commercial trees some of which support undergrowth. The aim is to get the canopies of the trees to meet so as to create avenues of natural shade and improve on the greenery of the area”, he said.
In addition, he said, there would be a changing room for children who would visit the recreational park, adding that there must be access to food for those who visited the park and that was what led to the addition of the restaurant.
MESTI’s allegation
Mr Asiedu said the assertion by the ministry that the permit for construction on the site, which had been issued to Mr Anang, had been transferred to Papaye was unfounded.
Papaye, he said, was partnering Mr Anang in the execution of the project because Mr Anang had approached Papaye to be his strategic partner.
He said no transfer had been made from Mr Anang to Papaye and that all documents and title deeds were still vested in the name of Mr Anang.
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He said it was also misleading for the ministry to create the impression that in the bid to start construction works, trees that formed the green zone had been cut down.
Mr Asiedu said the entire stretch of land was a grassland and the only trees were those that were standing on the fringes of the land and which were intact.
‘Papaye law-abiding and nation-builder’
He said Papaye, as a private investor, had over the years created employment and paid taxes to the state and that such a move by the company would not only create job opportunities for residents of the area but would also step up revenue generation for the state and, therefore, wondered why the ministry would want to take a confrontational stance against a private investor.
He said Papaye, from its inception, had been a good corporate citizen by being a law-abiding entity and would at no time engage in anything illegal.
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Writer’s email: victor.kwawukume@graphic.com.gh