Govt makes U-turn on demolition exercise at Ramsar Site

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The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, has announced a suspension of an exercise to demolish unlawful structures at the Sakumono Ramsar Site.

Mr Quartey has revealed measures have rather been put in place to get the structures regularised.

The Minister on October 19, 2022, led a team of security personnel to begin the demolition of fence walls on waterways at the Sakumono Ramsar site.

The exercise, which received approval from the Tema and Nungua Traditional Councils, was to help avert any possible flooding situation.

An inventory was subsequently taken on the number of houses illegally constructed on the Ramsar site to pave way for the second phase of the demolition.

But Mr Quartey announced the new development at a stakeholder meeting on Sunday, stating plans are underway to get a comprehension roadmap.

“I want to say here and now that not a single building will be demolished.

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“We will go through some processes of discussions, and we will have this kind of meeting again in about three weeks’ time by which time we would have had a clear road map,” he announced.

The 1,200 acres of land which hold thousands of gallons of water each year to prevent flooding in the surrounding communities is now under threat due to mass encroachment.

The approval of chiefs and elders of the two communities is, therefore, to allow the area to serve the purpose for which it was created.