The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has demolished hundreds of ‘houses’ at Old Fadama leaving thousands of the affected persons homeless. A mosque and two cattle ranches were the only structures at the site left untouched.
The demolishing exercise which started at about 7 am last Saturday was to pave the way for the development of the large swathe of land being occupied by the residents.
The Coordinating Director of the AMA Sam Ayeh-Darteh who spoke to our reporter on phone failed to explain the reason behind the demolition or what the law was intended for, saying he would react after visiting the site.
The exercise was led by the Assembly’s taskforce with support from the Ghana Police Service.
Four armoured vehicles with some police personnel were stationed at the site to maintain law and order.
When The Ghanaian Times later arrived on the scene at about 1 pm, yesterday, the affected people were counting their losses while some were trying to salvage items buried under the debris.
Some scrap dealers took advantage of the exercise to gather some scrap metals.
Operators of tricycles were engaged in brisk business, as residents with alternative places relied on their services to transport their belongings to their new places.
Three earth moving machines were seen at the site clearing the debris in readiness for the take-off of the intended project.
An affected resident, Musa Salifu, said, “I don’t have anywhere to go to. I have lost all my belongings because at the time they came here, I was not at home.
“And as you can see, the portion on which my kiosk was located (pointing to a cleared space) has been cleared by the machine,” a resident lamented.
Asked if they were given prior notice, Mr. Salifu said “we were given notice (written on their buildings) in December but when the time for the demolishing approached, we were not reminded”.
Another victim who spoke to the Times on conditions of anonymity, said she wasn’t given any notice and not even notices written on her house.
<<Print>>