Ga-Dangme Youth Association (GDYA) has called on government to honour its 2012 campaign promise to probe all questionable public land dealings and sanction persons behind those acts to serve as deterrent to others.

The youth made the call in an 8-point communiqué issued at the end of the second Ga-Dangme Youth Forum in Accra.

The forum, which came off last Saturday, brought together Ga-Dangme youth delegates from the various interest groups in the Ga-Dangme communities to deliberate on challenges confronting their people and to plan the way forward.

Among the demands the youth made, were a charge on government “to set up a Committee of Enquiry to investigate untoward public land dealings in the past and subsequently issue sanctions against identified miscreants as indicated in the 2012 National Democratic Congress (NDC) 2012 Manifesto.”

In an interview with Today yesterday interim President of the Association, Mr. Herbert Akai Nettey, said, the NDC administration in the lead up to the 2012 elections promised to look into the unlawful sale of public lands which included Ga-Dangme lands after the Ga-Dangme Youth made several noise about the “stealing of their lands.”

He added that the administration also promised to set a body to investigate the award of dubious judgment debts to individuals, groups and organisations.

“However they set up the Judgment Debt Commission which has now finished its work, but failed to investigate the sale of lands as they promised,” Mr. Akai Nettey pointed out.

According to him, the matter was dear to the hearts of the Ga-Dangme people and for that matter government must take it seriously.

The communiqué also called for the review of what it called the “discriminatory” Land Development (Protection of Purchaser) Act 2, of 1960. It said the law applies to lands in only Ga areas which makes it “discriminatory, obnoxious and repugnant to good conscience.”

The communiqué further blamed the Act as being responsible for the proliferation of land guard activities in the Ga area.

The youth further tasked the NDC administration to fast track the establishment of landing sites in Jamestown and Teshie as highlighted in their manifesto to create employment.

The rest of their demands included unconditional handing over of the Ada Songhor Lagoon - (Site for salt winning) to the people of Ada without any further delay, the return of Asutsuare lands to the allodia owners and the handing over of the Accra Community Centre.

In that regard they gave the city authorities a one-month ultimatum to hand over the Accra Community Centre.

The GDYA also demanded their due in the recruitment and appointment to public office to reflect regional and gender balance per the constitutional requirement.

The communiqué called on the Ghana Education Service to review the placement of trained teachers and post Ga Dangme teachers to teach the language in Ga Dangme

Meanwhile, the group has expressed disquiet about the continuing economic decline, rising levels of youth unemployment, limited skills training opportunities for young people, rising levels of urban poverty; and urged the government to live up to its responsibilities.