The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate for Sagnarigu Constituency, Mr Habib Iddrisu has reiterated that the demolishing of the old Fadama area popularly known as Sodom and Gomorrah is untimely and insensitive on the part of government.
He said, the destruction of the popularly slum in Ghana also known as Agbogboloshie shows the failure of the NDC government in providing enabling environment for the people of Ghana especially the vulnerable, adding that, the NDC government lacks the social will for consolation.
Mr Habib noted that, though he is not against demolishing of unplanned structures for public good but however, he is against the manner in which it was carried.
“The demolishing is very harsh and thoughtless. People are living happily and all of a sudden they have are ask go, go where?. Nothing has been provided to them, no relocation, no food, no water, nothing. This people are supposed to be relocated by the city authorities instead of the way and manner they have been treated. It’s a shame”. He fumed
In a telephone interviewed, Mr Habib said, the victims of the demolishing are bread winners from their various areas who have live all their live in Sodom and Gomorrah, “and now that they been ask to go home what happen? Will they compensated and giving start-up capital to relocate to their various towns and villages?” He asked
Thousands have since travel back to their various destinations in the Northern Region where majority of this displace people hail from after the demolishing.
The Old Fadama community, popularly called Sodom and Gomorrah came into being in the early 90s following bloody clashes between the Kokomba and Nanumba ethnic groups in the Northern Region which left thousands dead.
The Dagbon chieftaincy crisis in 2001 have also contributed to this exodus of migration from the North to the South.
A huge number of the Northerners fearful for their lives fled down south and made the Old Fadama their new home.
They have lived in the area for some two decades, have inter-married, given birth and multiplied. There were six thousand (60,000) people residents at the slum (Sodom and Gomorrah ) who are engage in so many hazardous and menial jobs including kayaye, scraps, truck pushing, local laundry, Okada, selling of sachet water, bananas, grandnut and anything that comes their way just to survive.
The place is also believed to be a den for criminals even though there are some genuine hardworking residents over there.
Following the Accra floods that left many dead, many have called for the demolishing of the Sodom and Gomorrah but Mr Habib thinks otherwise and reiterated that, nobody wants to live in a slum, stressing that, people live in slums because they have no other alternative.
“They have no jobs, no shelter and they have no place to go. It is the duty of the government to make sure that its citizen’s lives happily regardless of where they hail from. If this people were giving the opportunities of life, education, health, jobs and other meaningful occupation do we think that they will be in slums?” He query
The Sagnarigu NPP Parliamentary Candidate noted that, in other jurisdictions, where the rule of law works and the dignity and rights of the citizenry in cherish and upheld in high esteem, the demolishing exercise will have been properly planned, compensations and relocations of the victims will have been dealt with and nobody will have cried foul.
He said, the major cause of slums dwelling in unemployment which the government have to tackle and deal with but not this “Rambo” style attitude towards Ghanaians.
Mr. Habib who is based in Australia won the recent NPP primaries in absentia with overwhelming support, hinted that, he is putting some package together to help some of the returnees to settle in various areas. “What we can do for them now is to welcome them and give them hope and create jobs for them. They are our relations”
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