Six persons have been arrested at Tuba in the Ga South Municipality of the Greater Accra Region for undertaking illegal construction of residential properties in the area.
The six who are mainly artisans were apprehended by personnel from the Weija-Gbawe District Police Command on Wednesday, 18th May 2022.
This was during an unannounced working visit by a Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, George Mireku Duker.
The six, all men with ages ranging from 25 to 30 years, were arrested for the construction of illegal structures.
The arrest is one of many decisive steps being taken by the Ministry to tackle the issues of encroachment, illegal structure development and sand winning in the earthquake-prone area.
At a media briefing after the tour, Mr Duker stated that the suspects would be handed over to the appropriate authorities for investigation and possible prosecution.
He instructed the Weija-Gbawe Municipal Assembly to work closely with the police to arrest the owners of the various illegal projects in the enclave.
He warned that, the Ministry will clamp down on all illegal activities at the site including sand-winning and the development of unauthorised structures.
The Deputy Minister further issued a directive for the Assembly to as a matter of urgency demolish all illegal structures in the Ga South Municipality which have been established as earthquake-prone areas.
He wondered why people will choose to erect structures and conduct activities at the place despite several warnings by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and its allied agencies.
He said the Ministry will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that lives and properties are protected.
It will be recalled that NADMO in 2017 described parts of the place as ‘imminent risks’ and therefore called for the demolition of illegal structures at the Weija Hills and indicated that the move will help avoid future mudslides as happened in Sierra Leone in which least 499 people were killed.