ALICE AFUA KYERE & 4 OTHERS vs. NKAWIE DISTRICT ASSEMBLY [2015]DLHC8453

Date	2015-07-17
Suit No.	SUIT NO. 12/14/11
Citation No.	[2015]DLHC8453

HIS LORDSHIP JUSTICE JACOB B. BOON

SARFO GYAMFI FOR THE PLAINTIFFS

OSEI POKU FOR THE DEFENDANT.

[2015]DLHC8453
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >ALICE AFUA
KYERE &amp; 4 OTHERS<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>NKAWIE
DISTRICT ASSEMBLY<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>[HIGH
COURT, KUMASI]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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SUIT
NO. 12/14/11&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;DATE: 17TH JULY, 2015<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>SARFO
GYAMFI FOR THE PLAINTIFFS<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

OSEI
POKU FOR THE DEFENDANT.<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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HIS LORDSHIP JUSTICE JACOB B. BOON<o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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</div>The
plaintiffs are members of the Abuakwa Stores Association and were allocated
store- rooms in a structure along the Kumasi-Abuakwa High Street. They asserted
the structure was put up by the defendant with funds provided by them and others.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>For
avoidance of doubt the defendant is a statutory body created under the
authority of the Local Government Act 1993, Act 462. It was originally sued
alongside the Ghana Highway Authority but the suit was&nbsp; discontinued against it when it was realized
the Authority had nothing to do with the matters raised in the writ of summons
and accompanying statement of claim, those matters, particularly the
reconstruction of the Kumasi-Sunyani road, being matters that were undertaken
by Department of Urban Roads.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>According
to the plaintiffs, after pre-financing the structure under the jurisdiction of
the defendant they carried on their various trading activities in the allocated
stores until the structure was demolished to pave way for the construction of
the road. It is their case that the demolition affected their various business
activities hitherto carried out within the building. Fortunately, they averred
that the government department in charge of the construction of the road had
released an amount of GH¢108,000 to the defendant to enable it compensate them
as a result of the demolition of the structure. They averred that
notwithstanding the receipt of this amount the defendant has refused and/or
failed to compensate them, though it is aware their various businesses have
been adversely affected with the pulling down of the structure that previously
housed their stores.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The
defendant denied the assertion of the plaintiffs. It averred that, the
structure was put up by the District Assembly from its own resources. It
asserted it is not true for the plaintiffs to say they provided resources for
it to be constructed. It asserted that the two storey building was put up as a
market structure and the plaintiffs were allocated stores in it as tenants of
the Assembly without the payment of any monies by them. The defendant further
alleged that it has assured the plaintiffs they will be relocated alongside
other users of its demolished facility.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>It
is also the case of the Defendant that whatever monies it received as
compensation for the &nbsp;demolition of its
structure was &nbsp;for the benefit of the
District Assembly as the&nbsp; owner of the
structure, and not meant to be used to compensate the plaintiffs and the over
three hundred other traders that were housed in it. It claimed the plaintiffs
and these other traders were licensees of the District Assembly and owned no
proprietary rights in the structure. In any case, according to the defendant,
the affected traders were allocated temporary areas or sites to continue with
their trading activities pending the completion of a new three storey market complex
to cater for their business activities.<o:p></o:p>To
be resolved in this suit are the following issues:<o:p></o:p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;
margin-bottom:0cm;margin-left:54.0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-add-space:auto;
text-align:justify;text-indent:-36.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">(i)