A sprawling slum in Kumasi, popularly called "Abinkyi slum", has been demolished by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA). The slum, which is also known as Sodom and Gomorrah, is located close to the offices of the Cocoa Waste Buying Company and the Ashanti Regional offices of the Volta River Authority (VRA). The exercise, which was carried out at dawn last Tuesday, has compelled the slum dwellers, numbering about 2,000, to look for alternative places to lay their heads. Several wooden and mud houses which served as the places of abode for the squatters were demolished by bulldozers, under the supervision of KMA officials and armed policemen. The exercise formed part of a firm commitment by the KMA Chief Executive, Mr Samuel Sarpong, to ensure that law and order prevailed in the metropolis. In 2006, the Metropolitan Security Committee, after studying complaints about the emergence of slums and its attendant problem of criminals hiding in those places, decided that all unauthorised structures should be demolished. Consequently, in 2007, the KMA commenced the demolition of the "Abinkyi slum" but the exercise was suspended, following appeals by the dwellers for more time to relocate. However, instead of seeking alternative places, the squatters rather built new structures. The KMA commenced discussions with them this year and made them understand that they could not continue to be at the place. "The leadership of the dwellers accepted that they were illegally occupying the place," Mr Clement Kegeri, a Public Relations Officer at the KMA, told the Daily Graphic. Consequently, he said, the authorities gave them a two-week ultimatum, which elapsed on Saturday, May 22, 2010. According to him, while some of the dwellers packed bag and baggage and left, others continued to stay there, thinking that the warning was a fluke. It, however, came as a surprise to them when, on Tuesday" bulldozers arrived to demolish the structures. There was virtually no resistance from them. A number of them had gone out when the exercise took place and those who were around had to struggle to move their personal belongings away from the site. Some wailed uncontrollably as they picked their belongings and pleaded with the authorities to offer them an alternative place of abode. The "Abinkyi slum" is allegedly associated with vices, including prostitution and gambling, but its leaders have continuously denied that allegation. Mr Kegeri told the Daily Graphic that the demolition of the slum was long overdue, saying that the area was simply not zoned for human habitation and that the general conditions there were nothing to write home about. The sewerage system from the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) runs through the area "and it is unhealthy for human beings to live there, with all sorts of toxic materials at the place. Again, the VRA and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) have their substations very close to the area, which makes it unsafe for human habitation. Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana