TDC Ghana Ltd has defended its statutory mandate to plan, lay out and develop the Tema area, insisting that its role cannot be treated as that of an ordinary private developer operating under the authority of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA).
The state-owned development company says the current disagreement over the Community One, Site Three infilling housing project should not create the impression that its activities within the Tema Acquisition Area are subject solely to the approval of the Assembly.
In a statement, TDC explained that its mandate dates back to 1952, when the Tema Development Corporation was established under the Tema Development Corporation Ordinance, 1952, to oversee the development of the new Tema township and port.
According to the company, about 63 square miles of land, known as the Tema Acquisition Area, were acquired by the government from the traditional authorities of Tema, Nungua and Kpone and placed under TDC’s management through a 125-year lease.
TDC said it was given the responsibility of transforming the area into a planned industrial and residential city, adding that its mandate existed long before the establishment of the Tema District Council, from which the current Tema Metropolitan Assembly evolved.
The company further argued that the 1989 amendment to the Tema Development Corporation Instrument did not transfer its core development responsibilities to the Assembly.
It said while certain municipal functions, including the maintenance of roads, public buildings, markets and sewerage systems, were transferred to the then Tema District Assembly, TDC retained its principal responsibility to “plan, lay out and develop the Tema area.”
TDC maintained that both institutions have separate but complementary roles, with the Assembly responsible for municipal administration and regulatory functions, while TDC remains responsible for land development, housing schemes and urban development within its statutory framework.
The company also referenced the establishment of a Joint Technical Evaluation Committee between TDC and the Assemblies within the Tema Acquisition Area as evidence of a longstanding arrangement for coordination between the two institutions.
TDC stated that its conversion into a limited liability company in 2017 further expanded, rather than reduced, its mandate, allowing it to undertake the planning, development and construction of towns and cities in Ghana.
The company acknowledged TMA’s authority as a local government institution responsible for physical planning and development control but stressed that such responsibilities must coexist with TDC’s own statutory and proprietary interests.
“TDC does not dispute that TMA is a statutory local government authority with responsibilities for physical planning, development control and municipal administration. The issue is whether that mandate can be exercised as though TDC’s separate statutory mandate does not exist,” the statement said.
On the ongoing Community One, Site Three project, TDC called for dialogue and inter-agency collaboration rather than confrontation, stressing that the redevelopment of Tema must remain the priority.
The company said resolving the disagreement through consultation would serve the broader national interest and support efforts to build a modern and sustainable Tema.
CitiNewsRoom
