Angry Glefe residents protest demolishing of illegal structures

There was fierce resistance by some residents of Glefe near Dansoman during an ongoing demolishing of illegal structures near the Lagoon by the Ablekuma West Municipal Assembly yesterday.

Some of the residents blocked the roads and burnt tyres to block access to the lagoon delaying the exercise which was scheduled to have commenced around 6:30 am.

It took the intervention of police personnel drawn from the Dansoman Divisional Police Command to restore law and order in the area, before the exercise began around 9:30am with the pulling down of illegal buildings, including containers, kiosks and churches.

When this reporter got to the scene, there was a large crowd. Some wept uncontrollably over their demolished structures and others were moving their items to safety from the rubble.

Others were heard verbally assaulting the officials from the assembly who were there to supervise the exercise.

“They are evicting us here where do they want us to go,” some affected victims were heard saying.

The Municipal Chief Executive of Ablekuma West, Mr George Cyril Bray, In an interview with the Ghanaian Times said the Assembly would ensure that the water body is protected and also prevent flooding in the communities.

He said the affected residents were warned on several occasions not to erect their buildings near the lagoon but they went ahead to construct their buildings.

“When they started constructing the structures, the Assembly’s taskforce went there to stop them. I personally went there to engage with them but the recalcitrant ones built on the weekends and holidays,” he added.

He said the Assembly would plant trees around the lagoon to protect it.

Mr Bray cautioned the residents to desist from constructing illegal structures near the lagoon, adding that such buildings would be demolished.

It would be recalled that the Ghanaian Times on Friday, November 26, 2021, reported that hundreds of illegal structures along the Glefe Lagoon near Dansoman in Accra were yesterday demolished by the Ablekuma West Municipal Assembly.

The exercise, which sought to protect the lagoon, affected structures like wooden kiosks, metal and containers.