The Gender and Social Protection Ministry is fighting a developer who has threatened to take over the land on which the Osu Children’s Home in Accra is sited.
According to a deputy sector minister, Della Sowah, it would be detrimental to the inmates if the state allows the private developer, CADS Contracts and Services Ltd, to move the orphanage from its current location.
The orphanage catering for over 150 children was established in 1949 but was moved to its present location at Labone in 1960.
Though the developer had claimed it has a signed contract in 2012 with the Employment and Labour Relations Ministry which gives it the right to redevelop the place, the Gender and Social Protection Ministry is contesting that claim.
Addressing Parliament Wednesday, Mrs. Sowah insisted that the developer has not shown appropriate documentations to prove what they are laying claim to.
Also, she said when the Department of Social Development was placed under her ministry, the handing over note never mentioned the relocation.
“I want to assure the nation that the Osu Children’s Home land would not be sold or leased to anybody, thank you,” she told Parliament.
Stressing that the Home would not be relocated, she said a meeting was arranged for the company to provide further particulars but CADS Contracts and Services Ltd failed to attend.
She said the ministry has also been in touch with the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry, but there is no proof that the developer has been given the approval to relocate the orphanage.
She told the legislators that when push comes to shove, she will resort to the Attorney General’s Department and the Office of the President for solution.
Story by Isaac Essel | 3news.com | Ghana
