Landowners in the Shama-Ahanta East Metropolitan Area have taken the area's Metropolitan Assembly (SAEMA) to court over the acquisition of lands for government development projects.

Mr Philip Kwesi Nkrumah, the Metropolitan Chief Executive, who announced this when inaugurating the Sekondi Sub-Metropolitan Council in Sekondi on Tuesday did not elaborate but said the cases were pending before the courts.

He said the assembly was having problem with the acquisition of lands for projects especially educational projects.

Mr Nkrumah said the assembly would have to relocate projects meant for areas where land acquisition had proved difficult.

He said old pipelines were being replaced with new ones to improve water supply from Inchaban and Daboase to the Sekondi - Takoradi area under a project being undertaken by the government of Ghana and the Dutch government.

Mr Nkrumah stressed that the decentralisation process would not be complete if substructures under the process were not put in place and supported to function.

He said it was in this connection that district councils, town/area councils and unit committees were being inaugurated to push the decentralisation process forward and ensure democratic governance.

Mr Edwin Philips, Presiding Member of the Shama-Ahanta East Metropolitan Assembly, advised the public against creating unauthorised refuse dumps in the area.

He said the dumping of refuse on sea defence walls and along the coast was a matter of great concern to SAEMA because the defence walls were constructed at a great cost to prevent sea erosion.

He asked members of the Council to help to enforce environmental byelaws of the assembly to keep the Metropolis clean.

Mr Samuel Kinsley Eshun, assembly member for Enoe/Eshiem was elected Chairman of the Council