Minister, Chiefs Meet Over Omanhene's Petition Against Grel

By Alfred Adams

The Western Regional Minister, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, last Thursday, conferred with the Executive Council of the Association of Chiefs on Whose Land Ghana Rubber Estate Limited Operate (ACALANGO), over a petition filed by one of the chiefs belonging to the association.

The decision was based on a petition written and sent to the Minister by the Paramount Chief of Bamianko, Awulae Angamatuo Gyan III, who is also the Vice Chairman of ACALANGO, accusing the management of Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL) of cutting down food crops belonging to some communities in his traditional area.

The communities the Chief mentioned in his petition are Kaku Suazo, Bamiankor, Gwira, and Aiyinase amongst others. The Regional Minister is, however, working hard to settle the dispute amicably.

The Chairman of ACALANGO, Awulae Agyefi Kwame III, who is also the Paramount Chief of Nsein, in a telephone interview with The Chronicle, confirmed that the Executive Council of ACALANGO had met with the Regional Minister over the issue.

The Minister is yet to fix a date when parties in the case, including the petitioner and the respondents (GREL and ACALANGO), would meet to thrash out the matter.

Awulae Agyefi Kwame, who was unhappy that the issue had caught the attention of the Regional Minister, following a petition filed by the Vice Chairman of ACALANGO, told this reporter that attempts made by the Executive Council of ACALANGO to settle the matter have been unsuccessful.

Explaining what led to the failure of the association to settle the issue, Awulae Agyefi Kwame told this reporter that when the petitioner petitioned the association, they fixed a date to meet with the chief.

The chief appeared before the association, but did not exercise patience, so the matter could not be settled. "ACALANGO was unsuccessful in settling the matter," he said.

Awulae Angamatuo Gyan, on his part, told this reporter that when he appeared before the Executive Council of ACALANGO, he requested that GREL put an end to the rampant cutting down of their food crops until his petition was fully heard by the council.

But, GREL, according to the chief, would not listen to that. The chief recounted to this reporter how land he had cleared himself to plant food crops was seized by GREL, on the excuse that the land fell within GREL's concession.

Another chief, who spoke to this reporter on condition of anonymity, confessed that the eight chiefs who make up the association have not been happy with the conduct of the petitioner.

To the chief, Awulae Angamatuo may have a case, but the way he was going about it was not the best.

In 1962, the government of Ghana acquired 36,000 hectares of land for a rubber plantation, but the chiefs from the area protested against the large acreage being used for the plantation, and that it would result in scarcity of land for food production.

The chiefs, therefore, petitioned the government, and 21,000 acreage of land was given back to them.

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