La Pleasure Beach demolition victims to be compensated - Government

The government is set to establish a committee to determine compensation packages for people affected by the demolition of structures at La Beach in Accra. The Member of Parliament for La Dadekotopon and Deputy Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Rita Naa Odoley Sowah, disclosed this when she appeared before Parliament’s Local Government and Rural Development Committee. She said details of the affected persons had been compiled and would be used to facilitate the compensation process. According to her, the committee is expected to be constituted by early next week. “We’ve gotten their data, and the committee that is going to meet, we are going to look at what we’re going to give to them as compensation. So, they’ll be compensated, and the decision on the type of compensation hasn’t come out, or we haven’t finalised that,” she said. “But definitely as a Member of Parliament, I’m following up deeply on that to ensure that everybody gets what they’re supposed to get. By early next week, the committee will be composed, and we’ll start meetings, and we’ll update the committee on whatever we come up with.” The development follows the demolition of structures along the La Beach area, including La Pleasure Beach and the Polo Beach Club near the Labadi Beach Hotel. Military personnel from the 48 Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces, supported by the Ghana Police Service, supervised the exercise and directed vendors and businesses operating in the area to vacate the premises. The demolition has attracted concerns from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the La Dadekotopon Constituency. The constituency said it was surprised by the exercise and that preliminary consultations indicated the area was not part of any planned demolition by the Labadi Beach Hotel. Meanwhile, former New Patriotic Party (NPP) Chairman Freddie Blay has alleged that President John Dramani Mahama ordered the demolition of the Polo Beach Club. Blay’s son, Kwaw Worsemao Blay, owns the Polo Beach Club. Blay said the demolition was inappropriate because a dispute over the property was already before the court. “I feel sorry. It is one of the complaints that I think people should hear against the NDC government and against President John Mahama, that he himself ordered it. I know,” he said. “The court is yet to determine it. Then you complain to the president and the president orders that they should go and break it. He [Mahama] has no respect for law,” he said. Blay said his son acquired the land from the La Stool and had developed the property for business purposes. “My son has acquired land from the La Stool and did business on the land that belongs to the La Stool originally. They’ve leased it out. And we are working on it,” he said.Source: classfmonline.com
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