General News of Monday, 5 February 2018
Source: Myjoyonline.com
2018-02-05
File photo
Scores of squatters at CMB, an area in Accra, have been displaced following a demolition exercise by the Ghana Railways Development Authority on Sunday.
More than 100 structures were razed by the Authority to pave way for the commercial development of the area.
However, squatters in the area say the demolition of their makeshift structures was inappropriate as a litigation over the same matter was yet to be determined.
A notice from Afadzato Chambers, legal representative for the squatters, to the Railway Development Authority stated that “it is the legitimate expectation that you will wait patiently for the final determination of the matter.”
The lawyers are also pushing for compensation for the squatters, arguing that the planned demolition of the area to pave the way for a private commercial development defeated the purpose of acquiring the land in 1829 for the development of rail lines.
“The stretch of land on which the railway bungalow is sitting, abutting it and the area known as CMB form part and parcel of a stretch of land granted the Mantse Ankrah Family for its contribution during a tribal war known as the Bame War in 1829 by the Ga State,” the notice said.
Despite the notice, the Authority pulled down the structures on Sunday, taking the squatters by surprise.
The exercise was carried out under the heavy supervision of armed policemen and drew hundreds of onlookers to the scene.
Kwame, a squatter who was affected by the demolition, told Joy News he, like other affected occupants of the area, had been looking forward to the court’s ruling on the matter.