From Land Grabs to Water Disconnections, the Community Faces Systemic Exploitation
Tema, Ghana – September 23, 2025 – The MAAII Muslim community, original settlers of what was once a remote outskirt of Tema, is raising serious concerns over continued acts of systemic injustice and exploitation by Trasacco, a powerful private developer, with the apparent support of certain compromised individuals within public institutions.
Since 1981, the MAAII Muslims have resided in the area, enduring decades of hardship without access to basic utilities. Through resilience and collective effort, the community successfully extended potable water to the area by 1996, in full compliance with the Ghana Water Company’s regulations. These regulations explicitly require that no new water connections be made in an area without the written consent of the original party that introduced water infrastructure there.
However, in 2004, when Trasacco began unlawfully encroaching upon lands occupied by the MAAII Muslims—reportedly with assistance from corrupt actors within key state institutions—they circumvented these procedures. Rather than seek consent from the community, Trasacco allegedly paid a substantial sum to officials at the Ghana Water Company in Ashaiman to unlawfully connect water directly from the MAAII Muslims’ main pipeline to serve their high-end development.
This unauthorized connection violated both the spirit and letter of the Ghana Water Company’s own policies. It also reflected a broader pattern of collusion similar to what the community experienced in its long-standing dispute with the Tema Development Corporation (TDC), involving figures such as Mansa Banson. In what seemed like a silent admission of guilt, the Ghana Water Company revised its regulations shortly afterward to better clarify procedures regarding third-party water extensions—ostesibly to protect itself from legal action.
Today, the water infrastructure originally developed by the MAAII Muslims remains the primary supply source for the entire surrounding area.
Yet in a shocking and deeply unjust turn of events , Trasacco reportedly paid the same Ghana Water Company to disconnect the MAAII Muslims from their own water supply in 2012—effectively cutting off the very main Muslims that had made this critical resource accessible. This disconnection, which has now persisted for over a decade, continues to deprive the these Muslims and their school of access to clean and safe water.
Despite numerous appeals to both national and local authorities, the MAAII Muslim community has been met with indifference. Their calls for justice remain unanswered, while some officials appear to be influenced by vested interests aligned with Trasacco and its powerful allies.
> “It is both tragic and unacceptable that responsible, law-abiding citizens are being humiliated, their rights suppressed, and their future endangered—all to protect the image of luxury estates,” said a spokesperson for the MAAII Muslim community.
The community strongly believes that the future and beauty of Ghana do not lie in exclusive, walled-off estates and glass buildings—but in justice, fairness, and the empowerment of all its people. This includes equitable access to land, water, education, and opportunity.
All the humiliation, injustice, and disrespect that Trasacco and its collaborators in power have inflicted on the MAAII Muslim community over the years have been deliberately ignored. However, the current government’s promise to “Reset Ghana” has brought new hope to many marginalized groups. The MAAII Muslims believe that this era of national renewal can finally expose the truth and hold all corrupt individuals hiding behind corporate power accountable.
Call to Action
The MAAII Muslim community is therefore calling on all relevant public institutions, human rights organizations, civil society groups, religious leaders, and the media to investigate these repeated injustices. We demand full transparency and accountability from every individual and entity involved—be they public officials, private developers, or their enablers.
Justice delayed is justice denied. The time to act is now.
