A legal dispute is brewing between the Sekyedumase Community Bank and the Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly in the Ashanti Region following an alleged unlawful demolition of the bank’s building for the construction of a 24-hour economy market.

The bank’s management claims the Assembly acted unlawfully by demolishing the facility while applications concerning the property were still pending before the courts in Kumasi.

The bank, which has operated in the Aboabo community for decades, is now conducting its operations from a makeshift stall after its building was pulled down along with other shops and homes in the area.

The demolition was carried out on Monday by a security taskforce from the Asokore Mampong Assembly as part of preparations for the municipality’s 24-hour economy market project.

Management of the bank says it had engaged the Assembly for several months over the proposed redevelopment of the area and possible relocation or integration of the bank into the project.

However, the bank says its concerns were not addressed, forcing it to seek legal redress over the land it claims ownership of.

Counsel for the Sekyedumase Community Bank, Dr Dickson Osei Assibey, said the bank had occupied the land for more than three decades and had constructed the building with its own resources.

He said the bank was prepared to engage the Assembly but believed its proposal to integrate the existing facility into the 24-hour economy project was not given fair consideration.

“The bank has been there over 33 years. And from the documents that are on the land, it shows that the community gave the land to the bank to develop it as a bank to serve them. So the bank put up the building by themselves. It's not the community. It's not the municipal assembly. It is for the bank. And then the bank has been there for the past 33 years.”

Dr Assibey said the bank had been willing to explore an amicable solution, including having its facility incorporated into the new market development.

“So even if you want them to move, it's a matter of talking with each other, which they started. But the position of the bank was that either you integrate our building into the 24-hour economy project, which to me it is possible. They have not been fair. They have trespassed, and we think that the court have to take that matter up.”

Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Afriyie Michael Kwabena, said the demolition had resulted in the destruction of physical assets worth millions of Ghanaian cedis.

He said while the bank’s customer database had been preserved through its digital systems, equipment and other physical assets inside the building were lost.

“We have inventory of all the assets that is in the building. And the customer database is intact because due to technology and the existence of the bank for the past 46 years, we have managed to have the data of the customers intact. So for customer data, it's not lost. But the physical items of the bank are lost, running into millions of Ghanaian cedis.”

Mr Afriyie also disputed claims that the bank had been formally evicted before the demolition.

“We are not served any eviction notice. In fact, we have for the past five months been cooperating with the Assembly. We have not been served any eviction notice.”

The Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly is yet to comment on the allegations by the bank.

In the meantime, management says it is working with ARB Apex Bank and the Bank of Ghana to secure an alternative location from which the bank can continue its operations.

The legal dispute is expected to continue in court, with the two applications filed by the opposing sides expected to be heard in October.