Chemuna Traditional Authority unaware of supposed demolition of wooden bridge

• A traditional secretary has allayed fears of the people of Chorkor-Chemuna and Shiabu that government is planning to demolish a newly constructed wooden bridge connecting the two communities

• The temporary footbridge was constructed by the MP for Ablekuma South, Alfred Oko Vanderpuije

• Samuel Bortsie said government was instead going to build a permanent bridge

Secretary of the Chemuna Traditional Authority, Samuel Bortsie, has refuted allegations that government was going to demolish a temporary wooden footbridge outdoored by the Member of Parliament for Ablekuma South Alfred Oko Vanderpuije.

The concerns triggered a distress call to GhanaWeb by some residents of the neighbouring communities in the Ablekuma West and South constituencies after they witnessed earth moving machinery parked close to the facility.

The agitated community members who spoke to GhanaWeb's Kwame Adzaho-Amenortor could not contain their anger and poured out their frustrations.

An elderly woman, who lives very close to the wooden footbridge said, "Sometimes they need to think about us because we are also humans like them. They should not think that we have not been to school or held a pen before so they won’t consider involving us in whatever they do. "I am not too well as I stand here but then I had to vote during elections due to what we were told...You can imagine how people came out to see us just because we were making noise. It should tell you how serious our problem is.”

Another was of the view that demolishing the bridge would not help but only worsen the plight of residents on both sides of the bridge. She also added that the temporary bridge makes commuting from one community to the other easier.

But Samuel, the community leader, noted that his outfit is the first to be informed before government takes any initiative. Allaying the fears of the people, he indicated that the equipment was there for the construction of a permanent bridge.



In an interview with GhanaWeb he said, "We've not heard anything from the government…whatever the government comes to do here, we are the first people the government contacts. Nobody has come to seek our consent with regards to this bridge [Chemuna lagoon] footbridge demolition.”

He added, “I have had some meetings with some of the officials of the contractors from the government and they are even coming to have a site meeting before they can start the permanent one so they are not here because of the temporary bridge, they are here because of the permanent bridge. That's all.”

The wooden footbridge which serves as a link to the adjoining communities along the Chemu lagoon enclave was commissioned by the MP for Ablekuma South Alfred Oko Vanderpuije on Friday, May 7, 2021.

The former Accra Mayor received backlash from the public who held the view that his constituents “deserved better,” after he shared images of the bridge commissioning on his social media pages.