ILLEGAL STRUCTURES AT KWAME NKRUMAH CIRCLE RAILLINE DEMOLISHED

Story: Zainabu Issah

MORE than 500 illegal structures along the Kwame Nkrumah Circle railway line were on Thursday demolished  following the three-day notice by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA).

The notice came after fire gutted the area on Sunday, January 5, 2012, destroying properties worth millions of cedis.

The demolition exercise which started at about 6:00 a.m. saw the destruction of wooden structures built by the inhabitants.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic, a resident who has stayed in the area for almost to 20 years said the three-day notice by the AMA was not enough.

He added that most of the squatters  in the area were mostly the poor who could not afford decent housing.

“We cannot afford to pay huge rents and most of us here come from afar and this serves as a place of refuge for us,” he explained.

He, however, pleaded with the government to make immediate housing provisions for them as they had now been thrown out onto the streets.



The aftermath of the demolition exercise in circle.



“We have no where to go and are also currently homeless. We want the government to provide us with houses or we will sleep on the streets,” he stressed.

Residents have also threatened to burn any ballot box that would be brought to the area for voting during the December elections.

The Mayor of Accra, Mr Alfred Vandapuje, pledged to keep a close eye on the area to prevent future usage.

He said the decision to demolish the structures was of national interest and very necessary.

“We will monitor and make sure that no one will use the area as a place of refuge,” he added.

The Greater Accra Minister, Mr Nii Armah Ashiety, said he would collaborate with the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to come to the aid of affected persons and alleviate their plight.

PUBLISHED IN DAILY GRAPHIC ON  SATURDAY JANUARY 21 2012