300 tenants ejected from Kaiser Flats in Tema

The Tema Development Corporation (TDC) with support from officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Police has ejected more than 300 occupants of old dilapidated structures at Kaiser Flats in Tema Community Four.

The exercise which came off on Thursday, February 1, 2018 comes on the back of a Tema High Court order secured by the TDC in 2013 to evict tenants within four block apartments that it had ruled as disaster prone.

The move is to make way for the company to pull down 30 structures and rebuild safer ones. Four out of the many so far have been declared unsafe for occupation.

According to the Director-General of NADMO, he is acting on government’s directive to undertake more proactive measures to save lives and property in a bid to clamp down on the numerous disasters recorded across the country.

Speaking on the development, Mr. Eric Nana Agyemang-Prempeh said he is working in collaboration with the TDC and the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) to ensure the exercise yields positive results.

“The President, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwah Akuffo-Addo has directed that NADMO works towards more preventive measures than reactive. This exercise is being done together with TDC and the Tema Metropolitan Assembly.

“All kinds of search have been done, this place has been declared disaster prone area and therefore it is important that we get all of the people evicted from this place and we are going to go ahead together with the two organisations to make sure the buildings are demolished to prevent any future disasters,” he told journalists.

He also noted that compliance by the affected residents has made the evacuation process very smooth, indicating that demolition will follow in due time.

“We are into a lot of discussions … we need to do it as fast as possible. We don’t have to waste time at all. As you rightly know, in Ghana having done this eviction if you are not careful very soon people will be coming in again. We need to spend energy, money and others to come and do another eviction which we do not want to wait for that. So what we are going to do is that as soon as possible we will do it.”

Mr. Agyemang-Prempeh however disclosed that some affected residents including women and children will temporarily be given accommodation by NADMO as they search for permanent domiciles.