Trade Fair demolition cost me US$10 million, but I have moved on – Raymond Archer

The Chief Executive Officer of Universal Labels & Packaging Company Limited and Colour Planet Limited, Raymond Archer, has disclosed that he lost about US$10 million in investments due to a demolition exercise authorised by the management of the Ghana Trade Fair Company Limited.

The exercise, which took place in 2020, affected his business and led to the demolition of numerous structures at the Trade Fair site.

Victims of the demolition have since been complaining about job losses and property destruction, criticising the Trade Fair Company for failing to provide adequate notice to evacuate their belongings from the affected premises.

Although the Trade Fair Company Limited has maintained that the exercise was necessary for a redevelopment project, Raymond Archer criticised the destruction, labeling it as unfair during a recent interview with Accra-based Channel One TV on January 14, 2025.

“I lost about US$10 million at the Trade Fair, but my life has moved on…I never crumbled or crashed,” Archer stated.

When asked if he harbored any resentment toward the management of the Trade Fair Company, Archer responded, “I don’t have a fight with them. I just deplore the way they did it, and I hate the fact that power is used to do some of these things.”

The renowned investigative journalist, was recently nominated by President John Dramani Mahama to serve as part of a five-member team leading the National Democratic Congress’s Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) initiative.

ORAL is designed as a comprehensive strategy to address systemic corruption and financial impropriety.

It will focus on recovering misappropriated funds and resources as part of efforts to strengthen governance, restore public trust in state institutions, and provide much-needed fiscal space for national development.

MA