Workers of the Department of Parks and Gardens have begun blocking the entry of the land belonging to them at Cantonment, a suburb of Accra, from being encroached by one Rev Ezekiel who says the land belongs to him. The angry workers of the department who are currently volunteering to construct the wall have vowed to resist any attempt by any private individual or developer to claim ownership of the land. Rev Ezekiel who currently has two containers on the land is claiming ownership of the Parks and Gardens land saying it belongs to his wife’s deceased relative without providing any documents to back his claims. Acting National Director of the Department of Parks and Gardens, Daniel K. Adams further reiterated that the land belongs to the Department, adding that any person claiming to be a trustee will be resisted.
“I was indignant with the character of this so-called Dr Ezekiel in the sense that, we went to the Lands Commission to enquire about the ownership of the land. When he brought his indenture, it was written with pen so even the Cantonment Police Command was shocked. So Parks and Gardens, we brought our certificates of allocation and they told you also to bring your papers signifying that the land belongs to you, of which you are a trustee…… So the Cantonment Police Command was annoyed by the whole issue and they told him not to step on the land again”, he explained. He said despite the warning from the Cantonment Police Command, Dr Ezekiel on Monday brought land guards back on the land, hence their decision to erect the collapsed fence wall to prevent any further encroachment, and the Police gave them the green light to carry out the activity. Mr Adams assured that, the workers of the Parks and Gardens would continue to protect the land by ensuring that, no private developer is allowed to work on the land.
The collapsed wall ready to be erected again
“I am telling Rev. Dr Ezekiel that he should go to court if he has any property there because, we at Parks and Gardens, the land was given to us in 1952 by a certificate of allocation, and this E.I makes us the custodians of the land”, he said. He also appealed to the Lands Commission to desist from issuing non-existing land documents to people, adding that, parks and Gardens Lands are not for sale.