The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Ocloo, has announced plans to demolish unauthorised structures on the Sakumono Ramsar site and buildings constructed on waterways in Tema and the surrounding areas in the coming days. This decision follows a directive issued by President John Dramani Mahama last Thursday to address the ongoing flooding issues in the capital.
The minister stated that the demolition exercise will begin after the confirmation of the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executive (MMDCE) nominees for the Greater Accra Region. “This time, there will be no exceptions. We have all witnessed the consequences. If a building is on a waterway, it must be removed,” she emphasised.
On Thursday, I received a call from the Presidency instructing us to move to Sakumono and Tema to ensure that the illegal structures are pulled down. We will take action to ensure that those buildings are removed,” she added.
In light of ongoing concerns about land encroachments on critical sites, the Member of Parliament for Klottey Korley constituency, Dr. Zanetor Agyemang Rawlings also called on assembly members to collaborate in addressing encroachment on the Osu landing beach.
This call follows complaints from community members about individuals deliberately occupying the area. During a tour of the constituency with the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) to assess challenges, Dr. Zanetor Agyemang Rawlings emphasised the need for assembly members’ support in tackling encroachment.
“The work you do is not only about the ongoing projects, it is also about some of the real challenges that the people are complaining about. So, when the MCE sees it himself and you are planning how the resources are to be shared, these things will feature in the plans.
“As you can see, the assembly needs to be empowered more. This is because you have the mandate and there are task forces at the assembly, and we have to protect the land,” she stated. “We have to deal with this issue so that we don’t get to the point where we get to demolish people’s homes when we can prevent it in the first place,” she said.
