The government intends to set up a committee to put to rest the controversies surrounding the use of Aviation lands in Accra.
The committee will be inaugurated on November 6, 2020, and it will be headed by the Chief of Staff, Frema Opare.
The aviation lands at the La Nkwantanang/Madina Municipality in the Greater Accra Region has been the subject of claims and counter-claims between the government and private developers since 2017.
The government has indicated that it would soon resolve the issues to do with the allocation, use and ownership of the 600 acres of land.
The Aviation Minister, Joseph Kofi Adda, has given the assurance that there would be a resolution to the contention soon.
“The land matter has been with us for a long time, it goes way back when the land was allocated from the first government for civil aviation function purposes.
“Those years, I think the La/Nkwantanang and Adenta area was 614 acres. Nothing was done on the land other than the little space that was used to keep the equipment that was supplied.
“It continued till 2015 when the government took over the land and left 250 acres for them. It came down to 150 but still, nothing was done and the government on advice decided to use it for government businesses,” the Minister said in a Citi FM interview.
The Aviation Minister said he is hopeful that the committee would come up with an amicable solution in the interests of all parties.
Background
The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has two parcels of land in Accra for aviation development.
These are about 90-acre land at Cantonments, mostly referred to as “La wireless” and about 614-acre land at La Nkwantanang, popularly referred to as “Aviation Lands”.
The workers explained that the La Nkwantanang land was acquired by an Executive Instrument for aviation purposes, while the La Wireless one was leased by the then governor for Radio and communication in aviation.
The La Wireless lease will expire in 2047, but it is subject to renewal.
The government through the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has led renegotiations with the La Traditional Council to allocate the GCAA lands for private development. A move the workers vowed to resist.
On March 16, 2020, the Union and Professional Associations of the authority protested the encroachment of lands belonging to the GCAA.
Again, in October this year, some agitated workers from the authority embarked on another protest to drum home their demands.
The GCAA staff called it grabbing of lands. They warned the country’s aviation sector risks shutdown if immediate steps are not taken to safeguard lands crucial for the operations of the GCAA.
The workers threatened to lay down their tools if the matter was not resolved.
