Final warning to Tema Car Dealers to leave town

The Tema District Security Council (DISEC) on Thursday issued an ultimatum to all second hand car dealers operating in the Tema Township and its environs to leave to the Kpone Motor Village specifically allocated to them by next Tuesday, January 15.

Mr Samuel Evans Ashong Narh, Tema Municipal Chief Executive, who is also the Chairman of DISEC, told the GNA that should the dealers be adamant the law would take its course.

Two years ago the Car Dealers, who were operating around the Meridian Hotel and other areas in the town were evacuated to the Kpone Car Park built by the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) at the cost of 1.8 billion cedis.

The place has facilities like canteens, access roads, water, electricity and public places of convenience and also close to the Kpone Township, which has a bank and police station.

Mr Narh said the car dealers moved back to meridian hotel area, the Spintex road and have created another car market near the Tema Motorway Roundabout, which has been reserved by the municipal authorities as a green belt.

He said the dealers were only squatters on the land on which they were operating citing that the land around the Meridian Hotel was a commercial business centre, which was needed for its intended purpose by the TDC.

Mr Narh indicated that vacant lands in Tema had been earmarked for projects by either the TMA or TDC so no individual or group of persons could unilaterally claim ownership over the land.

The Chief Executive said Tema was a planned city and must be regarded as such to avoid chaos. Mr Narh said a committee would be formed within the DISEC to work out the modalities to move the dealers.

Earlier at a Press Conference, the Progressive Car Dealers Association operating at the Accra-Tema Motorway Roundabout stated categorically that since they were Ghanaians operating on their motherland they would not move to Kpone, which they described as not conducive to them.

They complained that when they moved to Kpone two years ago business had declined drastically with some going out business because they did not make sales at all but at their present place they sold about 20 cars in a week.

The Dealers, therefore, appealed to President John Agyekum Kufuor to intervene on their behalf and allow them to stay at their present place because they paid as much as four billion cedis in import duties to the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) annually.

Mr Maxwell Osae Addo, Secretary of the Association, said while the TMA and TDC claimed that their present place of operation was a green belt area and should be allowed to remain vacant, the area was being allocated to others for various business transactions and described that as being unfair to them.

They further complained that while those in Tema were being asked to move to Kpone, their colleagues operating along the Spintex Road and other areas remained in town to their disadvantage.

Miss Mansa Banson, Acting Managing Director of TDC said most of the car dealers in Tema had already acquired plots at the Kpone Car market under liberal terms of payment and had already fenced them.

She said they had, however, ignored several demands to leave to the Kpone car market and later appealed to the former Minister for Works and Housing, Mr Kwamina Bartels to step in on their behalf.

She said the Minister referred the matter to the TDC Board of Directors, which met the car dealers and after deliberations all parties agreed that they should move on January 15.

Miss Banson said the TDC had wanted the car dealers to move by November last year but they pleaded that it should be after the Christmas and New Year festivities.