Kwabenya Residents Attack AMA Boss

About 50 residents of Kwabenya last Saturday assaulted the Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, (AMA), Mr Stanley Adjiri Blankson and other officials when they visited a landfill site at Kwabenya.

They also vandalized three cars belong to the Assembly. Mr Anthony Obeng, Public Relations Officer, AMA, who confirmed the incident to newsmen, said the residents blocked the entrance to the site when they realised that the Chief Executive was there.

He explained that the main reason for Mr Blankson going to Kwabenya, had been to pay a courtesy call on the chief of the town in accordance with tradition, to formally introduce himself to the traditional authorities. The visit to the landfill site, he said, was for a brief period saying, ?we just spent about 10 minutes there to look at the site.?

Mr Obeng further stated that residents realising that the chief executive and his entourage have gone to the site, quickly mobilised and barricaded the entrance to the place. He said that the mob started throwing stones and also prevented them from leaving the site. ?I myself had to dodge one of the stones that was thrown at us,? he said. A police team from the Atomic Police Station, he said, had to be brought in to handle the situation which could have turned bloodly.

The Kwabenya landfill site has witnessed a series of confrontations between government officials and the community. The community is not happy about alleged potential health hazards that the landfill site is likely to pose to the people there.