Minority to summon Trade Minister over Trade Fair demolition

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Trade Minister

The Minority in Parliament is planning to summon the Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerematen, over a demolition exercise that took place at the Trade Fair Centre in Accra.

The demolition, which was undertaken by operatives of National Security on Sunday, resulted in the destruction of the property of many tenants.

According
to the tenants, the Ghana Trade Fair Company did not give them any
notice concerning the demolition leaving them unprepared.

Some have even described the exercise as a political witchunt but the Ghana Trade Fair Company has denied this.

In
an interview with Joy News’ Joseph Opoku Gakpo, Deputy Ranking Member
on the Trade and Industry Committee said the exercise was unfortunate.

“On Friday [February 21] we are going to call on the Speaker to invite the Minister to come and give us reasons why they have destroyed these companies,” Yussif Suleman said.

He is convinced that if the affected persons resort to court action, the government will lose money in terms of a judgment debt.

But if that happens, the NDC is not ready to allow officials of the Trade Fair Company under whose watch the demolition exercise took place to go scot-free.

Mr
Suleman said “anytime there is a change of government, we will let the
law works. It won’t be as usual where government will dole out money and
pay such debts and allow those who would have supervised this kind of
recklessness to go scot-free.

“Those
who would have supervised this will be prosecuted. The law will take
its course, because if you are entrusted to do such a work, and you sit
and allow government to lose money, definitely you would have to pay for
that. So that next time, whether it is government A or B, we will learn
a lesson from that,” he added.

Communications
Officer fo the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi has also described the demolition
exercise as a clear case of injustice against affected tenants on the
site.

“As a party we
condemn in no uncertain terms, this draconian demolition exercise which
was carried out by the National Security and the authorities of Trade
Fair. It is illegal, improper, unconscionable, unfair and barbaric,” he
said.

Pledging his
party’s solidarity for victims of the exercise, Mr Gyamfi disclosed that
the NDC “will be taking the matter up in the course of the week.”