TEMA FISHERMEN REAISE RED FLAGS (PAGE 38, JULY 19)

FISHERMEN and fishmongers at the Tema canoe beach and concerned citizens of Tema Manhean say they will resist all attempts by the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA ) to sell a tract of land on which they performed their vocation to a palm oil exportation company.
They claimed: ‘‘We are ever ready even at the peril of our lives to make sure that this palm oil exportation project is not cited on this particular land.’’ The fishermen have in turn given the GPHA a three day ultimatum to explain how they land became their property.
At a forum of fishermen, fishmongers and concerned citizens clad in red head bands, they said they were not happy that GHPA had issued a quit order to them to quit the ‘Tema beach 5’ site as the land area is referred to and claimed that the decision to prevent the fisherfolk from mending their nets, drying of fish and repairing their canoes at the site for the export business was ‘uneconomical, unprofitable and extremely unfair to the fisher folks and the people of Tema’.
A statement issued by the fishermen in collaboration with concerned citizens of Tema Mahean emphasised that the fishermen and the citizens were not against the palm oil exportation project but were concerned about the process adopted in the purchase of the land without the involvement of the local people or discussions with the people involved in the day to day activity of the said land.
The statement which was signed by a spokesman of the concerned citizens, Michael Nii Abbey, indicated that the land in question had been an avenue for extra related fishing activities and fisher training grounds as well.
He noted that information gathered from GPHA indicated that the said oil palm export company would be able to offer employment for only about 500 people as against over 12,500 direct jobs which were created at the beach through the fishing expedition of over 500 canoes with its crew, fish mongers, porters, truck pushers, and general trading at the beach.
Nii Abbey recounted how the already congested situation on the Tema Mahean road would look like if oil tankers start operating to offload the palm oil with its risks of accidents. He was optimistic that the introduction of such a big and busy entity on the road would push further the already squeezed land area of Manhean.
Nii Abbey urged GPHA to consider leaving the land for their use and rather relocate the company to the western gate of the port to make accessibility to the port easier and incident free.
He noted that the said parcel of land must remain an inter-generational cultural heritage and reliable source of livelihood for the people.
The Tema Mantse, Nii Adjetey, who said he was against the proposed location of the company, recouted the historical backgroud of the people of Tema from when they were moved from their old village to where they are now.
He said GPHA engaged in illegal deals with some people who have sold out the land to satisfy their personal interests. Nii Krakue said if things were not done right, Tema Mahean would gradually disappear because all its land will be taken away and there would not be anything left ‘not even the sea’.