Weeks after the demolition of part of the old Accra Race Course behind the International Conference Centre, some quarters are still refusing to relocate and are seen loitering around with their horses tethered to the trees on the piece of land. A visit by The Statesman also revealed that only about 20% of the demolition exercise has been undertaken. The squatters have thus taken advantage and moved into the yet-to-be-demolished structures. The site is to be used for the construction of the 240-room-and-10-suite 5 star Kempinski Gold Coast City Hotel, part of the Gold City project being undertaken by Cascade Development Company Limited at the old Accra Race Course, behind the Accra International Conference Centre. When completed, it is expected to provide direct employment for about 700 Ghanaians in the hospitality and tourism industry. The entire Gold Coast City project, to be developed on 350,000 square meter of land by Cascade Development, will cost between $400m and $500m, according to the Cascade boss. It will be a multi use project, comprising among others of four residential towers, three commercial towers, and an Exhibition Hall to complement the Conference Centre. Funding for the project, $50 million, design and engineering capacity are all set and ready to go. It is being partly funded by the African Development Bank and the Government of Ghana, and only the refusal of the horse owners and their families to move has delayed the project. However, there has been no major change in the state of affairs at the site since the demolition exercise. It is believed that over 200 head porters (kayayei) around Tema Station in Accra pass the night at the graded site with the horses, other livestock and families of the horse owners and jockeys. The over 200 police personnel on the day of demolition to provide protection for the officials undertaking the exercise have also been withdrawn and been replaced by officers from All City Security Service, a private security company. A security officer told The Statesman that contractors were building a huge wall around the land which will make it impossible for squatters to enter the yard and move freely. According to the security officer, the squatters had been pleading with the contractor to give them some time to find a place and leave, hence the delay in their ejection. Though the house owners and the jockeys have been allocated a place at Ashaley Botwe near Madina in Accra, they have complained that the place is isolated and have refused to relocate. They are also asking government to compensate them. The demolition of the old Race Course was finally effected by the Ghana Tourist Board on the 16th of June 2008 without any major resistance from the occupants some of whom had been there for nearly three decades. In the course of the demolition, most of the squatters, especially the horse owners refused to leave the site and threatened to resist the ejection and they could be seen busily going about their day to day activities when The Statesman visited the site yesterday. Officials of the Tourism ministry have expressed disquiet over the issue, fearing that it would have a negative impact on the nation's tourism development drive. They argue that access to legally acquired land is a major determinant in the quest to attract both local and foreign direct investment into the sector. Source: Statesman