THOUGH GHANA, our motherland, is not blessed with 250 ethnic groups like our big eastern sister, Nigeria, there is no doubt that we are also multi-ethnic. Proof of this fact is that in the past we have had the publicised assembly of Guans and of Asantes to mention just a few. Thus there is ample space within our cherished goal fo promoting unity in spite of our diversity to fully welcome the Ga-Dangbe Council, as the mouthpiece of the Ga-Dangbe people, the sons and daughters of the Greater Accra soil.

Such groups are usually pre-occupied with the survival of their language and culture and the safeguarding of their most-prized possession(s). It is, therefore, not surprising that the communiqu? of the 1st Ga-Dangbe Roundtable focussed mainly on land ? those compulsorily acquired by government in the national interest and those sold to individuals as freeholds ? and the need to retain Ga-Dangbe speaking teachers within the Greater Accra Region. Similarly, the second Ga-Dangbe round table again focused on government acquired lands. We also note that along the line it has led to the establishment of a Ga-Dangbe radio. The National Concord agrees that such a radio station is necessary. We do nto buy the argument that the various radio stations in Accra that use Akan are privately owned, so prominent Ga-Dangbe?s should also join the fray. Of course, that option is there, but it is also true that there are publicly funded radio broadcasting in local languages in most regional capitals, and Greater Accra should not be the exception. Excessive acquisition of Ga-Dangbe land could be a price they may have to pay for the privilege of hosting the Capital of Ghana, but not the loss of their language, please.

We will also urge the government to start paying full compensation for the large acreage it had acquired in the public interest since independence, even installmentally. At the same time, it should ensure that land on which compensation had not been paid is not sold to private individuals by its officials. It adds insult to the injury of the Ga-Dangbes.

Some have expressed surprise that some very prominent people are championing the cause of the Ga-Dangbe and on occasion use very parochial language that they had dreamed them capable of. Well, the reality is that matters of ethnicity are emotional matters and often not addressed with the rational parts of our brain. So the level of education often does not matter.

We think it healthy that the Ga-Dangbe elite now deem it necessary to let their people benefit from the fruits of their education. The past practice of concentrating on acquiring their personal fortunes while the perpetuation of Ga-Dangbe culture was left to their largely illiterate compatriots was selfish and self-defeating.

While they are at it, however, the National Concord expect them to buckle down and to do their homework. They should not limit themselves to mere public posturing to get cheap popularity but work to set ground rules to halt the mistakes the outcome of some of which they have been complaining about. We are saying that existence of freeholds on Ga-Dangbe lands which is said to be alien to Ga-Dangbe culture, is largely self-inflicted. A proper investigation would most likely than not reveal that the titles to those lands were signed away by Ga-Dangbe elders in the full glare of Ga-Dangbe lawyers and surveyors.

The National Concord calls on the Ga-Dangbe Council to sit down with the elders and the youths of the various families that claims allodial rights to land in Greater Accra. They should agree on procedures for leasing land to people wishing to acquire them.

The current practice of factionalised families who go behind one another?s back to lease the same portion of land to as many customers as come their way, is criminal, to say the least. It is what has bred the phenomenon of lawless landguards in the metropolis.

We welcome the Ga-Dangbe Council and commends the good work they have started, but it needs to tackle the failings within its own constituency. As the book-long people say, those who come to equity must do so with clean hands. Otherwise, you will not only be tolerated because people have no choice in the matter, but you will not be respected.