By Laudia Sawer
Kpone, June 26, GNA – About 200 artisans operating on a piece of land near the Kpone barrier on Wednesday morning demonstrated against the alleged sale of the land to a private company.
The artisans, made up of welders who operate fuel tankers, electricians, and some food vendors, among others, burned vehicle tyres on the land opposite the B5 Company Limited at Kpone Barrier to back their protest amid guidance by the police to ensure free flow of traffic on the stretch.
Mr. Mohammed Abdulai, spare parts dealer and spokesman for the artisans, told the media that they were not the landowners, but they have been working there for years.
Mr. Abdulai said they pleaded with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, the landowners, to allow them to pay rent or buy the land instead of selling it to B5 Company.
He said, “You want to collect the land and give it to B5, but they have taken all the land. Even if you want to sell it, come and sit down with us so that we can pay rent, but GBC won’t agree to that and is always asking us to leave. They always give us notice to quit within a short period.”
They appealed to the government to intervene in the issue to protect their livelihoods.
Meanwhile, management of the GBC, in response to the issue, stated that “Our attention has been drawn to news items on some media houses that squatters are being evicted from a parcel of land at Kpone, which is purported to belong to B5 Plus Company.”
A statement signed by Mrs. Stephanie Baka, the Deputy Director (Corporate Affairs) of GBC, indicated that the land belongs to the corporation, and as the rightful owner, GBC has the mandate to evict squatters from its property.
“These squatters have been living on the property for some time now, and the eviction exercise being led by Kpone-Katamanso Municipal Assembly is within our mandate to protect our property. The property has been turned into a place where nefarious activities are rife and this is tarnishing the image of the Corporation,”it emphasised.
It added that “squatters have been duly noticed about the eviction but have refused to vacate the property, and management wishes to admonish all media houses to desist from peddling false information about the eviction exercise.”
GNA