The Chiefs and people of Saasabi, Adengon, Kuberkrom and Zenu, all under the custody of the Tema Divisional Chiefs Council, say Volta Regional Minister, Nii Laryea Afotey Agbo, is neck-deep in ongoing encroachment on their lands.                    

Nii Ashitey Saasabi II, chief of Saasabi, Nii Mensah Bossah II, chief of Kubekrom and Nii Tetteh Attanya II, chief of Adegon, all claim the Volta Regional Minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for Kpone-Katamanso,  is in collusion with officials of the Lands Commission (Lands Title Registry) to sell their lands against their will.

At a charged demonstration by residents of the four villages to register their frustration about the situation on Wednesday September 25, Nii Armah Ashiboye, Secretary of the Tema Divisional Chiefs Council, said the people of Apollonia, a community in the Kpone-Katamanso constituency are most guilty of encroachment on their lands.

Mr Ashiboye revealed that a court case involving the Tema chief, Nii Adjei Kraku I and the chief of Kpone, Nii Tetteh Otoo I,  in 1887 - over the same lands being encroached upon - ended with the High Court declaring the Tema chief custodian of those lands.

But he said the court ruling notwithstanding, Nii Laryea Afottey Agbo was using his position in government to get officials at the Lands Commission to allegedly forge documents to cover parcels of lands belonging to the people of Tema.

He said over 6,400 acres of their lands have been encroached upon, but all attempts to get authorities to get the encroachers to stop has hit a dead end.

"We have appealed to the Police and even the IGP but nothing fruitful has been done", adding that since 2007 the residents of the four villages have been terrorised by land guards - most likely hired by the encroachers to do their bidding.

Attempts to get the Volta Regional Minister to respond to the allegations did not yield any positive result.

The chiefs and people of the four Tema villages have called on the Lands Commission and the Ministry of Lands to effect the demarcation of the boundary between Tema and Kpone as shown on the national archives.

They have also appealed to the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources to intervene in the matter since it could lead to serious violence between them and the people of Appolonia and other villages in the future.

"Ours can be clearly described as arm-twisting antics on the part of our brothers [people of Apollonia] who through their actions are gradually [becoming] our arch rivals", said Nii Armah Ashiboye.