Assembly member caution against indiscriminate sale of land

04-01-2012   

The Assembly Member for the Yorogo-Tingre Electoral Area in the Upper East Region Solomon Akakeya, has called for the regulation of the sale of lands in the area. He said the Bolgatanga and Bongo Traditional Councils should, as a matter of urgency pass laws to safeguard the lands. He urged Divisional and Sub Chiefs to strictly enforce the laws to help curb the trend. The Assemblyman expressed his concern at Yorogo during the celebration of his first anniversary in office as the Assemblyman for the Electoral Area. He explained that the rate at which individuals in the communities were selling lands would affect the future generation if the practice was not checked. He warned that government and Philanthropists, who want to put up building and other infrastructure projects in deprived communities, cannot do so now because most of the lands had been sold.  Mr Akakeya said since he assumed office as an assemblyman for the area, he has successfully lobbied with an NGO to register 40 deprived people in the community into the National Health Insurance Scheme. Mr Akakeya said with the support of the Member of Parliament for the area, they have been able to initiate projects such as nurses' quarters, the construction of bridges and the reshaping of roads and appealed to the management of the Urban Roads to gravel the Gaabisi-Yariga road to make it motorable.  Electricity, he said, remains one of his major priority concerns and expressed the hope that with support from the Regional Minister, the Member of Parliament, and the MCE, the electricity problem will be solved.” The Chiefs of Yorogo and Kunkua, Naba Johnson Awuni and Naba Peter Apineyele respectively, pledged to work harder to help arrest the rampant sale of lands in the area.  They expressed dismay about the spate of teenage pregnancies in the area and appealed to parents to ensure that they discharged their parental roles effectively. Naba Apineyele cautioned the people against the indiscriminate felling of trees, saying that, some people just cut down trees to sell and use the proceeds to drink alcohol. The Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central, Mr. Opam Brown, promised to support the community with electricity and other projects if he gets the nod to contest as MP for the second time. GBC                                                         END                                                    IA/