Kpone: Mrs. Linda Obenewaa Akweley Ocloo, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, has issued a directive to a developer and other persons encroaching on the Kpone Laaloi Lagoon to restore the encroached site to its natural status. The minister gave the directive when she, and other officials, visited Akampoo in Kpone following a viral video showing the filling of a water body with trips of laterite and other materials by some developers.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mrs. Ocloo stated at the site that it was wrong for developers to embark on activities that could endanger the community. She revealed that the developers were filling part of the lagoon for recreational purposes, a situation she said was uncalled for and directed them to remove all the material used to fill the lagoon at their own cost. She emphasized that developers must do due diligence before investing in unauthorized lands for their projects, and her office would not tolerate such activities within the jurisdiction.
Mrs. Ocloo instructed the developers to report to the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) while efforts are made to meet with the traditional authorities on the way forward. Mr. Samuel Tetteh Kwashie Morton, the Kpone-Katamanso Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), expressed gratitude to the Regional Minister and her team for their timely intervention.
Mr. Morton highlighted that the Kpone-Katamanso municipality had been clearly defined, and encroachers must tread cautiously in dealing with local authorities for the acquisition of permits for developmental projects. He pointed out that acquiring permits from other local authorities and executing projects in another jurisdiction was wrong, noting that resolving the long-standing boundary disputes between Kpone and Prampram would help address such issues.
He added that solving the districts' boundary disputes would promote peaceful coexistence between the two indigenous towns and help solve such problems. Mr. Morton also mentioned that KKMA would work with all stakeholders to ensure Kpone-Katamanso becomes a model district within the Greater Accra Region.
Ghana News Agency observed that officials from the National Security, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), among other state security agencies, gathered at the encroached lagoon site in Kpone on Sunday to help bring order to the area.
