A bulldozer pulling down the structures. INSET: Some of the items secured by the squatters.
SCORES OF illegal structures along the Accra-Tema Motorway were demolished early Tuesday morning by officials of the Ayawaso West Municipal Assembly in the Greater Accra Region.
Over 200 illegal structures were pulled down by the taskforce in the presence of heavily armed police personnel.
The exercise which commenced from Shiashi to the Accra toll booth end of the motorway had some squatters forcefully evicted.
The demolition became necessary following the failure of some recalcitrant occupants of the structures to relocate, in spite of several warnings from the authorities.
A few fortunate ones managed to secure some personal items by employing the services of wooden trucks to cart them before the bulldozers were deployed by the taskforce.
Augustine Okai, Chief Building Inspector of the assembly said they were determined to clear all illegal structures along the motorway.
He expressed disgust at the continuous erecting of illegal structures and said they would not let it happen again.
He said contrary to claims that occupants were not given prior notice before the demolition, there was evidence that adequate notice were given to them but they refused to comply.
“We have been here several times to inform them to vacate the area but they refused. There have been several engagements with them and even with the community who even threatened not to pay property rate until the assembly enforce the law,” he said.
The Chief Building Inspector said a monitoring team would be put in place to visit the area to ensure that the squatters do not return.
Meanwhile, Adentan Municipal and Tema Metropolitan Assemblies are expected to take the next necessary actions to clear the remaining squatters in their respective areas.
From Vincent Kubi, Tema