The Veterinary Services Department (VSD) has announced plans to take legal action against the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Assembly (TNMA) over the alleged encroachment on portions of the Tarkwa Veterinary Investigation Sheep Farm at Kwabedu, near Tarkwa.
The Department said efforts to resolve the matter amicably with the Assembly had not yielded results.
Dr Simon Gbene, a Veterinary Public Health Specialist, disclosed this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the Assembly’s decision to construct a 24-hour economy market on part of the farm.
He expressed concern that the proposed project could pose serious public health risks because the facility served as a disease investigation farm.
Dr Gbene explained that anthrax-infected carcasses had been buried on the land and should remain undisturbed for many years.
He added that the farm was also used for research, drug trials and sample collection for laboratory analysis.
According to him, the facility was the only Veterinary Investigation Sheep Farm serving Southern Ghana, including the Western, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Volta and Oti regions.
“The assembly wrote to us saying they wanted a portion, and we told them this is not a virgin land, it’s a farm, so you can’t have access to it. Apart from that, you can’t put a market in an infected area because this is disease investigation farm,” he explained.
Dr Gbene said the Department subsequently referred the matter to the Attorney-General’s Department in the Western Region after its concerns were not addressed by the Assembly.
He alleged that the Assembly justified its actions by citing existing encroachment on portions of the land.
The specialist estimated losses from the alleged encroachment at GH¢1.5 million and indicated that the Department would seek legal redress to recover the cost.
He noted that although parts of the land had previously been encroached upon, a fencing arrangement facilitated by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and a fuel station operator had largely curtailed the problem until the Assembly’s intervention.
Dr Gbene further warned that excavation works at the proposed market site could expose anthrax spores buried beneath the ground, posing potential health risks to residents and traders.
Some residents of Kwabedu who spoke to GNA said they were not opposed to the 24-hour economy market initiative but urged the Assembly to identify a safer site for the project.
They warned that they would hold the Assembly responsible for any disease outbreak linked to the project and called on the Ministry of Health to intervene.
In a related development, Mr Ebenezer Cobbinah, the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Chief Executive, confirmed that the Assembly had approached the VSD for a portion of the land for the market project.
He, however, declined further comment, explaining that the matter was currently before Mr Joseph Nelson, the Western Regional Minister.
