THERE IS NO TOWN IN GHANA CALLED BUNSO JUNCTION -DCE

May l use this opportunity to inform all and sundry that there is no town in Ghana called Bunso Junction

In fact, that portion of land which East Akim Municipal Assembly (EAMA) tries to bring under its control is, in fact, part of Fanteakwa District Assembly (FDA). From Asiakwa, our boundary begins from that old structure on your right where some people keep heavy duty equipment for hiring. That old structure was known as NEW NSUTAM PAPER FACTORY. ALL the houses from that end towards Linda Dor, bear house numbers of Fanteakwa District Assembly and ALL business concerns within the aforementioned area, including the Linda Dor, pay revenue to the Fanteakwa District Assembly. This portion of Fanteakwa District is known as NEW NSUTAM.

HISTORY

It is on record that in the 60s, the NSUTAM town was flooded and the government acquired a large track of land to settle the people of Nsutam. The new community become NEW NSUTAM. So all the lands you see from New Nsutam Secondary school to New Nsutam Paper Factory fall under the jurisdiction of FDA. All the lands as mentioned above, including the lands on which Linda Dor is located, are under the care of Lands Commission because they were acquired by law and compensation paid to the original owners who are mostly from Asiakwa. When Fanteakwa was carved out of EAMA, New Nsutam was added to Fanteakwa District Assembly.

THERE IS NO TOWN IN GHANA CALLED BUNSO JUNCTION -DCE

CONFUSION

1. The late chief of Bunso put up his private residence in New Nsutam. He was the Chief of Bunso but stayed in New Nsutam. This created confusion in the minds of many. The chief never claimed the area as being part of Bunso or EAMA but paid his property rate to the FDA and recognized the Chief of Nsutam as his landlord (host).

2. Most of the residents of New Nsutam preferred going to East Akim to take building permits instead of going to Begoro which is further away from them. This created confusion in the minds of revenue collectors of EAMA who thought because the permits were acquired from EAMA, they could take property rate from the people of New Nsutam. Officers of EAMA encouraged this because it inured to their advantage in terms of revenue mobilization.

3. Portions of lands acquired for the resettlement of Nsutam people was acquired from the Chiefs and people of Asiakwa before the Fanteakwa District Assembly was carved out of EAMA. Some of the people in Asiakwa cant believe that portions of lands owned originally by them could become part of another District (Though this is legally possible)

THERE IS NO TOWN IN GHANA CALLED BUNSO JUNCTION -DCE

4. It must be noted that Nsutam and New Nsutam fall under the jurisdiction of the Kibi Police. Police barriers are not coterminous with political boundaries. Other portions of Fanteakwa District such as Samang, Juaso, Osino, Dwenase, Abompe etc, come under the Anyinam police and not Fanteakwa Police. The fact that New Nsutam comes under the Kibi command does not make it part of EAMA

I want to reiterate the fact that traditional boundaries are different from political boundaries and so the fact that a portion of land originally belonged to Bunso or Asiakwa does not make that portion part of another District. Yes, lands were acquired by the central government from the people of Asiakwa to build the New Nsutam town but that does not make the New Nsutam part of East Akim. Our boundaries are clear. ALL the houses within the area journalists call Bunso Junction are in fact, located in New Nsutam in Fanteakwa District. The LI that established the FDA is not ambiguous.

l would therefore use this opportunity to advise journalists to stop referring to any land between the customs barrier at Nsutam and Linda Dor as Bunso Junction – that is in fact, NEW NSUTAM IN FANTEAKWA DISTRICT

Hon Abass Fuseini Sbaabe, DCE for Fanteakwa District

THERE IS NO TOWN IN GHANA CALLED BUNSO JUNCTION -DCE