One of the foremost investors in the real estate industry in Ghana, Mr Teodoro Martinez Montero, the brain behind the Legonman Housing Project at Madina, has had his share in the vast estate returned to him, 22 years after it was confiscated to the state. The assets were confiscated from Mr Montero, as the Managing Director of Redco Limited, in 1985, following his arrest and detention by the then military regime. Redco was then a joint venture between Mr Montero's company, Teccnicas de Multiconstruction SA (TEMSA), and the defunct Bank for Housing and Construction (BHC). However, under the authority and direction of then President Jerry John Rawlings, a letter signed on behalf of the then Chief of Staff, Nana Ato Dadzie, dated January 5, 2001, confiscated the assets of the bank and directed that, on humanitarian grounds, Mr Montero should be given 40, percent of the undeveloped part of the Legonman lands, in addition to the uncompleted houses thereon. Four years later, President John Agyekum Kufuor, by a letter dated May 30, 2005 and signed by the then Attorney-General, Mr J. Ayikoi Otoo, confirmed the de-confiscation process in the terms set out in the said letter of January 5, 2001 and directed Mr Montero to take possession of the uncompleted houses and 40 percent of the undeveloped part of the Legonman lands. That was effected by a letter dated May 4, 2001 and signed by Justice V.C.R.A.C. Crabbe, in which the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Joe Ghartey, directed the official liquidator of the bank to carve out 40 percent of the total Legonman lands out of the piece of land leased to the bank for Mr Montero. In the light of the encroachment on parts of the Legonman lands, which made it impossible to produce one site plan, Mr Montero has caused different site plans to be made in order to clearly identify various sites which constituted 40 percent of the undeveloped parts of the total Legonman lands, as well as the uncompleted buildings thereon. Elated by the gesture, Mr Montero said, "At long last justice has come. Although I lost a lot during the time of the seizure, I am not bitter." He recalled the days of the seizure of his property and said in 1985 he was arrested and detained without trial, a situation which his wife could not stand. She committed suicide by blowing her head with a gun. Mr Montero said although those periods were painful, he had decided to leave them behind him and move ahead with life, saying, "Thankfully, today, although I lost my estate project for more than two decades, because of my love for Ghana I was able to develop other initiatives such as the Horizon Farms near Nsakyi in Akwapem, a venture which won me the best pineapple farmer award in 2001." He said although the project that he intended to embark upon would face some challenges as a result of encroachment, he believed in the Ghanaian adage that "we should not bother about what has been destroyed but protect what has been left". Mr Montero said as soon as all the documents on his property had been put together, he would put in place a programme to begin a redevelopment of the land. "I am looking for a financier to help me put up between 2,500 and 3,500 housing types," he said, adding, "I pledge to Ghanaians that for allowing justice to prevail, I shall not repatriate my profit but invest it locally." Mr Montero said he was also interested in setting up a foundation to take care of the aged, saying that "by my estimation, there is no safety net for the aged in the country". He said he would not allow his advanced age to detract from his objective, adding that as an investor, he knew how to source for funding. Mr Montero recalled that in 1976/77 he was able to source $12 million from a bank in Spain to undertake the Legonman project but, unfortunately, he did not get support for the sovereign guarantee for the loan. He extolled the advantages in brick houses and said in Ghana we had abundant clay deposits and it made economic sense to use that resource for the housing industry. Mr Montero said if he got investors to supply him with bricks, he would start his new housing estate with bricks. He gave some of the advantages of a brick house as less weight and there being no need for plastering or painting. "Maintenance is also not needed and it is also very cool and conducive for good health," he added. Mr. Montero indicated that it was for those advantages that he rehabilitated the GIHOC Brick Factory at Mallam, near Accra, to feed the Legonman project. Culled from Daily Graphic