Residents at Weija Gbawe in the Greater Accra region have called for the suspension of a demolition order issued by the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL).
Thousands of residents are at risk of losing their homes with no compensation or a resettlement plan after they were marked with red paint inscriptions that read “to be demolished by GWCL” on October 9, 2023.
The markings, accoording to reports were done by some men in civilian clothes suspected to be from the Weija Gbawe Municipal Assembly and the GWCL under the supervision of armed men in military uniforms.
Philip Edem, who spoke on behalf of the residents on Adom FM’s morning show, Dwaso Nsem Wednesday said the incident has left them confused and distraught.
Mr. Edem indicated that, most marked houses including his are not close to the Densu River neither do they get flooded during the Weija Dam spillage.
In an emotional and passionate appeal, he called for government’s intervention.
“Many people went into abject poverty after the first demolition of houses in this area, marriages were broken, and many died slowly. We are Ghanaians who have toiled to earn some income to provide shelter for ourselves and our families. We have lived here all our lives we have nowhere to go,” he bemoaned.
He indicated that the community has held meetings with the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Patrick Kumor, and Deputy Health Minister, Tina Gifty Mensah for assistance.
He expressed residents’ readiness to adhere to measures put in place by Ghana Water Company to protect the Densu River.
“We will support any initiative to protect the water body,” he added.
Already, a number of houses had been demolished about a fortnight ago in Joma, a nearby community in the same municipality with no prior notice or compensation for the victims.
The demolition in the two communities will be the second in 12 years in the same area by the GWCL following a demolition of more than 500 completed and uncompleted houses in December 2011 which left more than 2,000 people homeless and led to the death of a pregnant woman.
During the first demolition exercise, the GWCL cited encroachment of the buffer zone of the Densu River which feeds the Weija Dam, a crucial national asset providing potable water for thousands of residents of the central and western parts of Accra as the reason.
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