Henry Quartey, Chairman of Regional Security Council
The Greater Accra Regional Security Council (REGSEC) has given illegal occupants of lands belonging to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and Animal Research Institute (CSIR-ARI) at Frafraha a 48-hour ultimatum to vacate or be forced to vacate the lands.
REGSEC, the Minister said, is collaborating with the Adentan Municipal Assembly and the CSIR to remove all those unauthorized structures mushrooming within the fenced land without further delay.
“Any persons found loitering on the fenced 200-acre land after the deadline will be dealt with in accordance with the laws of the land. REGSEC, with the Adentan Municipal Assembly and the Animal Research Institute (ARI) of the Council for Industrial Research (CSIR), will proceed to remove every structure on the land subsequently,” he said.
Addressing the media yesterday in Accra, the Regional Minister and Chairman of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC), Henry Quartey, said the land guards had broken down portions of the piggery infrastructure, destroying four cattle.
To save the situation, a housing facility and foundations for buildings have been erected to replace them.
“Land guards have also built walls and single rooms in front of the Hatchery, Meat Processing House and the Dairy Processing Unit, blocking access to these facilities by vehicles,” he said.
Destruction/vandalism
According to him, some ongoing experiments, including some donor-sponsored ones, have been destroyed by the land guards. He added that the land guards had broken into CSIR area, and vandalized structures with their bulldozers, damaging an ongoing project.
He recounted how the land guards walked in and out of the Institute with impunity, some riding motor bikes and compromising the biosecurity of the farm animals.
The Minister said Members of the Security Council had visited the site, and witnessed the aggressive encroachment on the 200-acre fenced land.
“We wish to place on record that none of the buildings have any building permits, and Adentan Municipal Assembly has not issued any permit to anyone to build on the ARI land,” he added.
Mr Quartey further disclosed that the land guards, who were armed during their activities, molested the staff of the CSIR, and threatened to burn down the Junior Staff quarters of the Institute.
“None of the houses built on the lands of CSIR had permits in accordance to the law. Structures would be removed without prior notice, and the regional Security Council has given 48 hours to the squatters to vacate from the 200 acres land of the CSIR without fail,” he stated.
He stressed that failure to comply with the order would compel the Adentan Municipal Assembly, in collaboration with the CSIR, to conduct a demolition exercise to save the land.
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