Some residents in Tema have accused the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) of selling off reserved greenbelt lands in an area between Community 7 and Community 10.
On the Citi Breakfast Show, one of the residents in the area, Abraham Lartey, claimed TDC officials had “bought and shared some of the lands to themselves.”
The land has been described as a buffer zone and reserved by the Tema Metropolitan Assembly, according to Abraham Lartey, who was speaking for the Concerned Youth of Tema Against the sale of Greenbelt Lands.
“For these reservations, you can’t put up permanent structures on them. The best you can do is put up maybe a container.”
He also said the neighbourhood had started to build a park for kids as well as a recreational centre when the issues started.
“But we realised that they [the TDC] came to destroy all the work we have done on that parcel of land and they have sold it to people and they have started building.”
“Greenbelts have now become a cash cow for some of these TDC people. They are just trying to make money out of it,” Abraham Lartey alleged further.
Responding to the claims, Ian Oquaye, the Head of Protocol and Administration at TDC, suggested there has been some miscommunication between the TDC, TMA and the residents because the land in question was not reserved as a greenbelt.
Also speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, he said disputed portions were “reserved lands for future developments.”
He also claimed the residents complaining about the sale of the greenbelt wanted to purchase it themselves.
“The residents there who are now fighting over this same reserved land applied for additional plots of these particular plots to be part of their houses. But the TDC said no.”
“They only stare to do recreational activities; planting trees, when they knew the place had been allocated for residential purposes.”
Abraham Lartey denied these claims and said he was unaware some residents had tried to purchase the land they now claim are part of a reserved greenbelt.
“Maybe he will have to prove which way we applied for the land,” he said.
