THE FIGHT AGAINST SLUMS IN ACCRA


The Accra Metropolitan Assembly yesterday surprised squatters within the metropolis with three demolition exercises.

The areas affected by the exercise were Apenkwa interchange, new Fadama, and Achimota behind the new bus terminal as well as the main Achimota gutter.

There was a heavy police presence to deter any act of resistance from the squatters.
Squatters looked on helplessly as graders destroyed wooden structures which served as their homes and stores.

When this reporter got to the scene onlookers had gathered to witness the exercise. The heavy police presence however prevented them from taking any action.

Some of the squatters said they had not been given any notice of the demolition exercise but the Accra Metropolitan Assembly said they had been served eviction notices for some months.

Abena kwesiwaa Kyei, director of Okaikoi North said the Assembly was to going to ensure that the exercise was successful.

She therefore said police personnel were going to be placed at the areas to ensure that the squatters do not come back.

The director said the Assembly had met with the traders and squatters several times to caution them of their illegal habitation but they had turned a deaf ear to their warnings.

“As at 1:47pm yesterday we were here to talk to them so today we are taking action”, she added.

She said the assembly is willing to assist the traders who want to sell to do so but many of them are not coming forward to take advantage of the offer.

“The assembly has put up many markets within the metropolis but most of these markets like the Odawna market and the Tuesday market all stand empty as we speak” she said.

Some of the squatters who this reporter talked to said the markets that have been provided are expensive.

They said they have to pay as much as GH 700 to get a stall at the Odawna market which they could not afford.
























Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2nd EDITION OF GYANDOH AND GRIFFITHS SOURCEBOOK OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW OF GHANA LAUNCHED

The second edition of Gyandoh and Griffiths Sourcebook of the Constitutional Law of Ghana was launched in Accra on Thursday. The book which encapsulates all of Ghana’s legal history from 1824 is the second edition after the first edition was published over 40 years ago. The book is written by Emeritus Prof. S.O Gyandoh Jnr. and John Griffiths. It is edited by Prof. Kofi Kumado and S.O Gyandoh Jnr. Mr. Julius Ansah, Justice of the Supreme Court in a speech on behalf of the Chief Justice, Mrs. Georgina Theodora Wood, said the constitutional history of Ghana dates as far back as 200 years, however most of that has been told through the voice of foreigners. She added that in the process some of the history has been distorted. This she continued has occasioned the need for home-grown story tellers who will be able to tell the nation’s story accurately. The Chief Justice said this need fuelled the collaboration between Prof. Kofi Kumado, former student of the Legon Law Faculty and Eme...
Read more

The Fundamentals of the Ghanaian Cedi

Image
By Dr. S. Kwaku Afesorgbor, Centre for Trade Analysis and Development The depreciation of the Ghanaian Cedi has now become a perennial crisis. Overtime, we have come to the realization that the depreciation of the currency is structural and not necessarily due any form of mismanagement of the economy by the government in power. This mainly because this trend of annual depreciation is historical and successive governments have failed to stall its occurrence. Ghana’s current vice president, Dr. Bawumia, in a series of public lectures, highlighted the discrepancy between the exchange rate and inflation. Figure 1 below provides anecdotal evidence of the continuous discrepancy between inflation and exchange rate overtime in Ghana. Discrepancy between inflation and exchange rate The theoretical underpinning of the relationship between inflation and exchange rates is the relative purchasing power parity (PPP). Through PPP, the appreciation or depreciation of the exchange rate shoul...
Read more

OUR COLONIAL HERITAGE

Image
The Republic of Ghana is named after the medieval West African Ghana Empire,[1] The Empire became known in Europe and Arabia as the Ghana Empire by the title of its emperor, the Ghana. The Empire appears to have broken up following the 1076 conquest by the Almoravid General Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar. A reduced kingdom continued to exist after Almoravid rule ended, and the Kingdom was later incorporated into subsequent Sahelian empires, such as the Mali Empire several centuries later. Geographically, the ancient Ghana Empire was approximately 500 miles (800 km) north and west of the modern state of Ghana, and controlled territories in the area of the Sénégal river and east towards the Niger rivers, in modern Senegal, Mauritania and Mali. Historically, modern Ghanaian territory was the core of the Empire of Ashanti, which was one of the most advanced states in sub-Sahara Africa in the 18–19th centuries, before colonial rule. It is said that at its peak, the King of Ashanti could field 500,0...
Read more