AMA demolishes wall at Akweteman

Accra (Greater Accra) - The Accra Metropolitan Assembly Demolition Task Force on Monday started demolishing walls erected on the road that links Abeka Motorway to Azuma Junction at Ngoobu-Achimota.

The exercise is to open the road for free flow of vehicular traffic and to ease congestion on the main Achimota-Nsawam road.

The Task force using crow bars, hammer, pay loader, bulldozer and tipper trucks pulled down the fence wall of a private house and that of the Ebenezer Church of the Living God Headquarters.

Also demolished were five wooden classrooms, two KVIP toilets and two bathhouses of the Living God Nursery and preparatory school that belongs to the Ebenezer Church of the living God.

The walls were pulled down despite the bold display on it of a building permit number 345/97 supposedly issued by the AMA.

Before the pull down vehicular traffic was one way and volunteers had to stand at each end of the road to direct traffic.

Residents expressed joy when they saw the bulldozers with words like:

"How can one woman hold the whole community to ransom" "today be today, we have now seen who is who" "AMA well done and continue with this good job"

Mr. Elliot Adom AMA Public Relations Officer, briefing newsmen said this is the first phase of an attempt to open up the community.

He said road network rehabilitation in the area being carried out from the main Nsawam road through Akweteman to decongest vehicular traffic had to be suspended because of the wall.

Mr. Adom said all attempts to get the owners to remove the walls had proved futile but now that they have been pulled down, AMA would resume work on the road.

He advised people who have encroached on access roads to remove their structures before they are demolished.

Mr. Adom said the AMA is slow in carrying out demolition exercise because of constraints of logistics like bulldozer, pay loaders, tipper trucks and manpower, adding "We will one day come and demolish whatever you have encroached upon so do the right thing at the right time"

The whole exercise will cost the AMA about 10 million cedis and it is expected that owners of the structures will be surcharged

Mr. Thomas Agyare, Assistant Chief Building Inspector who supervised the exercise said building permit number displayed on the wall of the church was only given for the church building and not the school and the wall.

He warned that people who have encroached upon lands earmarked for social amenities like schools, clinics and markets would have their structures demolished and surcharged for the cost.