A committee of representatives of land owners from nine communities in the Ejisu Municipality have re-entered a total of 950 acres of land, said to have been acquired by the government for use by the Free Zones Authority (FZA).
The Communities are Ampabame, Adadientem, Abenase, Donaase, Ejisu-Manhyia, Asaapong, Hwereso, Edwenase and Nyinataase.
The chairman of the joint Committee, Agya Opoku, said their concerns border on non-payment of compensation to the land owners, since the land was forcibly acquired by the government some 22 years ago.
In 2005, the Government, by Section 7 (1) of the Free Zone Act 1995 Act 504) acquired 1099-acre lands at Boankra, Ampabame, Edwenase, Donaaso, Hwereso and Aduakorokyere in the Ejisu Traditional area and declared a Special Economic Zone area under regulation of the Free Zones Authority, with the intention of growing Ghana’s economy from the creation of at least 5,000 direct jobs and 12,000 indirect jobs.
The Ministry of Trade has planned to develop the area and has thus described the occupants as squatters, whose illegal structures are illegal and bound to be demolished.
But the aggrieved landowners claim no compensation has ever been paid to any of them, for which reason they have decided to take over their lands for their personal gains.
Agya Opoku explained that in 2003, the late Omanhene of Ejisu, Nana Aboagye Agyei informed them of the decision of the government to acquire the lands and thus sought their consent.
As  a result of a series of engagements between the  Omanhene  and government officials  they (land owners) agreed to the proposal to acquire the lands by the government, on condition that the it would pay for the destroyed crops, as well pay compensation in line with Article 20 of the 1992 Constitution to the affected land owners.
In spite of this agreement, Agya Opoku said only crops destroyed have been paid for through bank accounts opened by the affected persons, but no compensation has been paid yet, an indication that the government is not interested in the lands.
This is unlike the case of the Boankra Inland Port, where government paid the land owners in full before the project started.
Following, the land owners, believing that the government is not interested based on the alleged claim that the government had not legally and formally acquired the land from them, have re-entered the land and sold it to prospective developers for settlement.
According to the land owners, the government by law cannot forcefully take any land from its legitimate owners without the payment of compensation, hence the takeover.
Last Monday, the embittered land owners slaughtered a sheep to back the re-possession of their land and dared the Government and the Free Zones Authority to provide proof of payment of compensation, if any.
They have also accused officials of the Free Zones Authority of using the police and the military to harass them to access the land in dispute.
Meanwhile, the Ashanti Regional Manager of Free Zones Authority, Nana Osei, declined to speak on the issue of compensation, because he has no authority to do so.
He also told The Chronicle in a telephone interview that he was not aware of the position of the land owners.
