Kpone Youth Protest Against NDC Office Project

A cross section of the youth in Kpone have protested against the decision of the Kpone-Katamanso Constituency branch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to build a party office on a parcel of land earmarked for a market. The youth on Thursday morning congregated on the said land to prevent workers from excavating trenches for the commencement of the party�s office project. According to them, women in the area used to process and smoke fish on the land but the Kpone-Katamanso District Assembly (KKDA) took over the land with the excuse to build a modern market there. When the Ghana News Agency visited the land, it noticed that some market sheds had been erected at the place. Blocks have also been packed on the land with chippings and sand also heaped there. Some young men who claimed to be supervisors of the project were also seen idling around. Mr Joshua Akpeng Tetteh, Assembly Member for the Laloi Electoral area, where the land is located, said on Tuesday that he saw a group of people in NDC paraphernalia on the land. Mr Tetteh stated that upon some enquiries, he learnt that the NDC was about to construct an office complex at the place, which had been earmarked for a market project. He said he was very disturbed upon seeing the setting out done on the land as that confirmed the information he had gathered. He called on the KKDA to urgently stop the NDC from taking over the land. Meanwhile Alhaji Antiaye Tetteh, Kpone-Katamanso District Chief Executive, has denied the Assembly's involvement in the planned construction of an NDC office on the land. Alhaji Tetteh explained that the Assembly has not allocated the land to the NDC since it was the Kpone Traditional Council that owns Kpone lands not the Assembly. He further indicated that, as an Assembly, it was their responsibility to control developments in the area through the issuance of permits to developers. According to him, the NDC was yet to apply for a permit to build an office at Kpone. He said even though the Assembly was not against political parties constructing offices, it must follow due process. He added that the district would be chaotic should all the political parties in the district decide to take over any land to construct offices. Mr Neham Charway, NDC Kpone-Katamanso Constituency Secretary, refused to comment on the issue, indicating that, he was currently not in a position to confirm or otherwise on the allegations that the party wanted to construct an office on the market land.