John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills, the late, Professor of Economics and former President of Ghana, aside from being known as ‘Asomdweehene’ (King of Peace), was also known for the popular statement, ‘Adze wɔ fie a, oye’, which means it is good to support one’s own.
It didn’t require the late Prof. Mills’ statement for a rational human being to appreciate the need to support one’s own. However, it appears the narrative is rather the opposite in reality, considering how many have made it seem a taboo for their countrymen, not Songo, the sports journalist, to flourish in their businesses and other spheres of life.
Gone were the days when journalism was all about reporting what had happened and exposing societal ills so that they could be addressed. But the narrative has changed. Now, some media houses are paid to tarnish the reputation of others and their businesses for reasons best known to them.
I saw a publication from one pro-NPP newspaper on Monday, April 07, 2025. In fact, it was their banner story, which talked about how waste management experts Zoomlion Ghana Limited, a sister organization of the Jospong Group of Companies, had pulled down a structure belonging to some Turkish investors at Borteyman, a suburb of Accra.
“Zoomlion ‘landguards’ destroy Turkish investors’ property” was the headline of the story and I can bet that six (6) out of 10 Ghanaians see a story headline and they are good to go. They judge, make their own decisions and move on without taking a read of even the first paragraph.
One interesting thing is that, there are many who do what I call “window reading” where they go to newspaper stands to take a glimpse of the headlines of the day. Such people either do not have the money to buy the paper, or they just take such moves to update themselves with what’s trending on the day. So once they get the headlines, they are good to go.
Just like radio and television stations where people have their favourite channels they tune in to abreast themselves with trends, that paper, is not my trusted source of information and I wouldn’t have purchased it but for the story I saw.
I was stunned to see such a headline because for the past two decades or so that I’ve known Zoomlion, I have heard quite a number of stories about the company, courtesy Manasseh Azure Awuni, about contracts he feels were never executed to perfection or cost the state more than necessary, including delayed payments of YEA operatives, reason being the government’s refusal to pay the company on time as disclosed by the sector minister recently.
But never have I heard anywhere that Zoomlion has been involved in any act of vandalism or unlawful. So I was taken aback and after reading the article, I wept. I shed tears for how journalism standards have been lowered by some pro-party media houses just for the selfish interest of their paymasters.
The lead of the story read: “A TURKISH company based in Ghana, Arsan Group, has accused Ghanaian businessman Joseph Siaw Agyapong CEO and owner of Zoomlion of allegedly using landguards and rogue elements of National Security to attack and destroy its residential property development in Borteyman, a suburb of Accra,” with series of other unfounded allegations also attached.
Other portions of the story said: “Arsan Group stated that they had been engaged by the bona fide owners of the land, Terraform Development Limited and Royal Bell Limited to undertake a joint venture project where they are to build some 400 residential units for Ghanaians.
After all their due diligence and being satisfied with the land ownership documents presented by the property owners Terraform Development, they proceeded to design and construct the project.”
However, what’s omitted from their story is that, the ownership of the said land is currently disputed at the Court of Appeal, where the trial is ongoing. Zoomlion purchased the land from the chiefs of Borteyman, but it was allegedly encroached upon by Kwame Blay, son of the former NPP Chairman, Freddie Blay.
When his father’s party was in power, Kwame Blay protected the land with landguards and police officers. Now that power has shifted and their party is in opposition, he seems to expect others to act similarly, leading him to level baseless allegations against the Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies.
Kwame Blay circulated a picture of the demolished property to media houses with a note falsely accusing Zoomlion. The message read, “Zoomlion, who now says he is NDC has gone to pull down Kwame’s 40 apartment buildings at Borteyman last Tuesday with the help of national security.” However, this claim is baseless.
Zoomlion has never affiliated itself with any political party, including the NDC or NPP. As a company, they’ve worked with successive governments over the years. Kwame Blay’s attempt to tarnish Jospong’s reputation by linking the owner to a political party is unwarranted. And I will urge him to focus on resolving the ongoing land dispute in court instead of spreading false allegations.
Kwame Blay, I understand your frustration. Since your party lost power, you appear to expect everyone who worked with the previous government to also act like they’re in opposition. However, you’re overlooking a key point: Jospong is a business entity, not a political one.
Just as some of your party members urged the Mahama administration not to work with Jospong due to their association with the previous government, you’re now using propaganda to tarnish Jospong’s reputation. Nevertheless, such tactics will not succeed. The company issued a statement last week to distance itself from the said demolition.
“You claim the individuals who arrived at the scene for the demolition identified themselves as National Security operatives, which you’re labeling as ‘Zoomlion Landguards.’ If indeed National Security demolished your property, wouldn’t it be more prudent to seek redress in court rather than publishing baseless allegations about someone and their company in a newspaper?
It is apparent that you’re prioritizing the interests of a Turkish business aiming to generate excessive profits and repatriate them, potentially harming the Ghanaian economy. Meanwhile, you’re disregarding the contributions of a Ghanaian entrepreneur who has created employment opportunities for thousands and supported numerous households through his conglomerate.
Background
For the records, in December 2024, Sino Africa, a subsidiary of the Jospong Group of Companies, accused Kwame Blay of seizing 29 acres of their 328-acre land at Borteyman, Nungua.
At a press conference organised by Sino Africa on Wednesday, December 18, 2024, it stated that Blay claimed 29 acres of their land through Royal Bell Investments Limited and Terraform Development Limited, the same companies he mentioned in his message to the media houses which were used to peddle the falsehoods. These two companies are believed to be owned by Kwame Blay himself.
Sino Africa, at the said presser disclosed that Blay’s father was also using his influence as a member of the then ruling NPP to back his son’s actions. He was using armed landguards and police officers to protect his illegal activities on the land in question.
These armed personnel, as further revealed at the press conference, were deployed to intimidate and harass anyone approaching the land, while Royal Bell Investments Limited and Terraform Development Limited continued development despite a court order for all parties to cease work pending adjudication. Sino Africa appealed to the government and police to enforce the court’s directive and halt the illegal development, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
The Director of Operations at Sino Africa, Gabriel Forceby, at the press conference recounted the company’s land acquisition process, disclosing that, in August 2010, they entered into two sublease agreements with the Nungua Stool, represented by King Odaifio Welentsi II and the Gborbu Wulomo, for 328 acres of land.
“Sino Africa immediately took possession of the land, marked boundaries with sandcrete structures, and constructed a fence wall. In 2011, a one-storey office block was also built on the land, which has since served as the company’s base of operations,” he narrated.
According to Forceby, Sino Africa had enjoyed peaceful possession of the land, until 2022, when Royal Bell Investments Limited, a company claiming to enforce a judgment against one Nii Abotsi Borlabi for 29 acres of the land, began demolishing some of Sino Africa’s structures.
This development, he pointed out, became a source of worry for his company, who immediately sought to assert their rights and therefore filed an action in the Land Division of the High Court. “Terraform Development Company Limited and others joined the suit as co-defendants in the course of the trial at the High Court,” he said.
Unfortunately, Forceby said Sino Africa was unsuccessful at the High Court and subsequently filed an appeal. According to him, even before the substantive appeal could be heard, the Court of Appeal had granted a stay of execution of the High Court’s decision and ordered that the status quo be maintained. “As such, both parties were to refrain from altering the character of the land until the appeal had been heard,” he underscored.
Despite the explicit directive of the Court of Appeal, Forceby stressed that Royal Bell Investments Limited and Terraform Development Limited have persistently engaged in activities that continue to alter the character of the land, including unauthorized developments and the employment of security agents to enforce their presence on the land.
In response to these violations, he noted that Sino Africa filed a Penal Notice to warn the officials of Royal Bell Investments Limited and Terraform Development Ltd against continuing to take actions that amounted to a contempt of court.
“In response, Terraform Development Ltd., filed an application at the Court of Appeal seeking an Order to set aside the Penal Notice, which application was dismissed on the 4th of December 2024,” stated Forceby.
Notwithstanding the court’s ruling, the Director of Operations at Sino Africa indicated that Terraform Development Ltd continued its unauthorised developments on the land, accusing them of engaging some police officers to protect their illegal activities.
“It is evident from their actions that Terraform Development Ltd fully intends on developing the land in the manner they have advertised on their website,” he stated.
To conclude, if a whole Court of Appeal has asked you to stay away from a land and because you think your father’s party was in power you could use state security to abuse the orders of the court, how do you turn around to accuse Zoomlion of using landguards to destroy a Turkish property?
I needed to write this piece after seeing that story because the matter at hand is still in court and it is essential for Ghanaians to know that the newspaper’s publication was merely a fabrication aimed at tarnishing the reputation of a respected entrepreneur who has consistently worked towards ensuring the Ghanaian doesn’t go to bed hungry, aside from the positive impact of his work on Ghana’s environment.
By Clinton Amegatse
