The Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA) has organized a public forum with residents of Glefe Community in Ablekuma West to discuss planned demolition of unauthorized structures, road construction and sanitation issues.
The forum was also to create a platform for dialoguing with the local people, traditional leaders, the Member of Parliament, Ms Ursula Owusu and Mr Alfred Oko Vanderpuye, Metropolitan Chief Executive of Accra to strike consensus on the demolition procedures.
Ms Owusu and Mr Vanderpuye advise the community members to eschew politicisation of the exercise in the interest of national development.
Mr Vanderpuye said, “The two political parties (the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party) coming together today shows how we can help move our nation forward”.
He expressed concern that the gutters under construction were being filled with rubbish while some have also been blocked with unauthorized structures for commercial purposes.
He advised those who dump garbage in the gutters to stop the act, warning that when such persons were caught they would be prosecuted.
Mr Vanderpuye appealed to the chiefs in the area to consistently dialogue with the officials to ensure good sanitation in the area.
Ms Owusu said there was no need to politicise events of national interest but rather galvanize efforts of stakeholders to help develop the community.
“We are here to talk to them about the need for the demolition, in order for them to do it voluntarily without any force, just like the way it was done at Sahara,” she said.
Ms Owusu told the GNA that a consensus had been reached on the demolition, which would help reduce tension and minimize damage to lives and property, adding “in such exercise there is the need to manage the people.
“I’ve explained to the Mayor how working together can minimize the resistance that accompanies these matters, if they succeed with Glefe, it will be a motivation for others,” she said.
She expressed worry that there were no accesses routes in the community making it difficult to carry sick persons to health facilities.
“They are being carried on wheel barrows to hospital, such a manner can cause disease that will cause them to die,” she said.
The people were also educated on the need to ensure good sanitation to avoid cholera.
Source: GhanaWeb
