A triangular legal cum administrative battle looms over the ownership of the Abokobi land, portions of which have been leased to the Ga East District Assembly (GEDA) in the Greater Accra Region for the development of its official and residential accommodation. Caught in the unfolding land acquisition drama are the Chief and people of Brekuso in the Akuapem South District of the Eastern Region, the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and the General Assembly of the Ga East District. The Public Agenda says it has gathered that already elders of Brekuso are in the law courts claiming ownership of the entire Abokobi lands, including the portion the Presbyterian Church has leased to the district assembly for a 99-year period via the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council (RCC). They are contending that the original lease agreement which allows the Presbyterian Church to own the land has expired. The church on the other hand, is making frantic efforts to regularize its documentation covering the land, apparently in readiness for the legal showdown, while the General Assembly through the Presiding Member (PM), Baba Abdulai Zakaria has hinted of a possible recommendation for withdrawal of the withdrawal of the 400 million cedis payment for the land. The PM says revelations that Brekuso has commenced legal proceedings to reclaim the land that originally belonged to it, coupled with attempts by the church to regularize its documentation, give cause for concern, especially because the impending legal brawl may hinder the district assembly from securing the necessary documentation covering the lease. "If upon scrutinizing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the land acquisition, we (General Assembly) detect that the terms are not in the public interest, or there is wrongdoing on the part of anybody we shall call for the withdrawal" the PM told Public Agenda. He also expressed concern about the fact that the general assembly is only aware of the fee for the lease, while other fees such as yearly rent have not been disclosed. In reaction, Nii Samuel Adjetey Mohenu, Chief of Abokobi and member of the Zimmerman Memorial Presbyterian Church, Abokobi has called the bluff of the people of Brekuso, stating that they have no case because they cannot produce any document. He explained that the Basel Mission acquired the Abokobi land in the 1850s on "freehold" and later transferred it to the Scottish Mission which in turn made the Presbyterian Church of Ghana trustees of the land. Subsequently the Presbyterian Church set up the Abokobi Township and appointed an indigene who is also a member of the church to be the chief. "That freehold agreement initially reached between the Basel Mission and Brekuso means the church owns the land for an unlimited period. In other words, the church owns the land forever," he stressed. Nii Adjetey, also a member of the Ga East Assembly by virtue of being an appointee dismissed suggestions that the church has no documents covering the land but admitted, ''The papers are still with Land Valuation Board because we are trying to regularize them." He said he is surprised by insinuations that the church does not own the land and pointed out that the church pays millions of cedis every year to service the land. Meanwhile, the Public Agenda said a source at the district assembly has hinted that the assembly stands to gain a lot from the lease agreement in the areas of property rates and business operating licensing fees to be paid by business operators whose ventures are located on the portions acquired by the assembly. At their general meeting last week, assembly members registered their displeasure at the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Sheikh I.C. Quaye as head of the RCC for by-passing the assembly in the payment of the 400 million cedis for the land. Consequently, they demanded an unqualified apology from the minister for disrespecting a resolution they passed earlier this year in respect of the said land acquisition. Source: Public Agenda