The state has been accused for not going according to the constitution of the land in acquiring the Keta Lagoon Complex compulsory before its convention into Aramsar site
The accusation was made by a recognized group named the Anlo Youth Council [AYC]
The complex was compulsorily possessed in 1999 and converted into a Ramsar site under the Wetlands Management (Ramsar Sites) Regulations, 1999 (LI1659) to protect it.
The Anlo Youth Council, which is a registered and well recognized group and also helps in taking major decisions in the anlo kingdom is contesting the acquisition process as part of a suit filed by the group challenging the decision of the Minerals Commission to zone the Keta Lagoon complex and give it away to private companies to mine salt.
According to a statement sighted by adomonline.com on 18th of October, filed by lawyers of the Council, states that government acted unconstitutionally in acquiring the lagoon complex as a Ramsar site.
“It is the Plaintiff’s case that the state compulsorily took possession of or compulsorily acquired the whole area described as the Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar site without satisfying the conditions set out under the provisions of Article 20 of the 1992 Constitution,” lawyers of the council argued.
In Article 20 (2) of the 1992 constitution: “Compulsory acquisition of property by the State shall only be made under a law which makes provision for the prompt payment of fair and adequate compensation; and a right of access to the High Court by any person who has an interest in or right over the property whether direct or on appeal from other authority for the determination of his interest or right and the amount of compensation to which he is entitled.”
According to the group, the State failed to follow the provisions of Article 20 (2) of the 1992 Constitution in acquiring the Keta Lagoon Complex, and to make matters worse, the Minerals Commission went ahead to also zone the area and give it away privately to mine salt
The move by the commission according to the Anlo Youth Council contravenes the laws of the Ghana and must be addressed urgently.
“The Keta Lagoon complex is cherished and in some cases worshipped by the anlos by but in recent times ,institutions particularly the minerals commission especially and the water resources commission by some acts of neglect are contributing to the degradation of the keta Lagoon Complex ” the group lamented.
According to the group , the above-mentioned state institutions have failed woefully to take appropriate measures to protect and safeguard the Keta Lagoon Complex for posterity contrary to the provisions of article 36(9)of the 1992 constitution
The AYC , according to its lawyers is not trying to pursue its personal rights but rather to enforce the communal property rights of the chiefs and people of Anlo in the Volta Region who inhabit the geographical area covered by what is commonly referred to as the Keta Lagoon Complex under the Article 20 of the constitution
It is also, according to the group to ensure that state institutions desist from policies that are resulting in the degradation of the ecological intergrity of the Keta Lagoon and laws to to safeguade and protect the Keta Lagoon Complex from the hazardous effects of salt mining and other environmentally unfriendly practices for posterity
The Keta Lagoon forms part of the Anlo Keta wetlands situated to the east of the Volta River estuary .
Keta Lagoon is a brackish lagoon covering c.250km2 and stretching for 40 kilometers along the coast
The Keta Lagoon is heavily fished, the lagoon fishery is a major commercial activity and the main sources of livelihood for many of the people living around the lagoon.
The extensive shallow water, mud banks and mud flats within the lagoon habitat provide good feeding grounds for sea and shore birds and the site is the most important site for water birds along the Ghana coast ,supporting an estimated population of about 110,00 water birds including eight species which occur internationally significant numbers.