President John Mahama has issued an executive order directing a nationwide demolition of unauthorized structures as government ensures that June 3 flooding disaster never happens again.
Appearing before parliament today, Deputy Local Government Minister Nii Lantey Vanderpuije indicated that the various assemblies have been notified of the President’s directive and already some have started working it out.
The directive means the ongoing demolitions in Accra is set to be replicated across various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
Some MMDAs such as Ketu South Municipality which have not yet started say they are yet to receive official communication. Nonetheless, measures are already in place to carry out the President’s directive, MCE Pascal Lamptey told Joy News Wednesday.
Already Ghana’s biggest slum Sodom and Gomorrah (Old Fadama) has been erased from the city’s landscape in a three-day demolition exercise last month.
Last week, Avenor also in Accra became the latest stop of the AMA taskforce. At the Abuja slums near COCOBOD in Accra, a fire outbreak Tuesday night, spared the need for the AMA’s bulldozers to move in.
The AMA has however warned the affected not to rebuild any structure.
But the demolition exercise has come as a yet to be documented social cost. Several hundreds of families have been displaced and poverty is set to worsen among the displaced.
Many are still looking forward to government to re-settle them.
The Local Government Ministry has failed to state the number affected or provide comprehensive mitigation package for the affected.
“Nobody knows where they have gone to, nobody seems to care” the Dean of the Local Government Institute Dr. Eric Oduro Osae observed on Joy FM’s Newsnight
According to him, Section 52 of the Local Government Act enjoins government to give notice to illegal residents before demolition exercise can be carried out.
The Act also provides the affected the opportunity to explain to the Assembly why their structure should not be demolished.
He advised any one affected or yet to be affected by the demolitions to take legal actions if the Assembly failed to provide prior notice.
He expressed disappointment that the Local Government does not have “baseline information” on those affected by demolitions.
To him, a database on those affected is basic function of the MMDAs.
Latest Stories
-
Bahamas World Relays: Ghana paired with world and Olympic champions in Heat 1
6 hours -
Bahamas 2024 Relays: Star-studded cast ready to put on pre-Paris show
7 hours -
Bahamas Relays preview: clash of global title-winning teams in men’s 4x100m
7 hours -
Arsenal keeper Raya wins Premier League Golden Glove
7 hours -
Iñaki Williams scores twice in Athletic Bilbao’s win over Getafe
7 hours -
Argument with Salah ‘completely resolved’ – Klopp
7 hours -
Reus to leave Dortmund at the end of the season
8 hours -
Uefa confirms 26-man squads for Euro 2024
8 hours -
Teacher Unions press home demands for the new allowances
8 hours -
Media’s failure to hold government accountable for ‘galamsey’ alarming – Mahama
8 hours -
Keta Presbytery urges Akufo-Addo to assent to anti-LGBTQ+ Bill
8 hours -
Ghanaian midfielder Lawrence Ofori nets maiden goal of the season with stunner against Vizela
8 hours -
Community fearful after off-duty policemen shot dead at East Trasacco
8 hours -
Dext Technology partners KNUST to train basic school teachers on STEM
9 hours -
My efforts led to remarkable transformation in Appiatse – Lands Minister
9 hours