President Akufo-Addo
There is a sharp division among the squatters in front of President Akufo-Addo’s private residence near the Nima Police Station in Accra.
Many of the squatters, some of them living in containers scattered over a large area, are disappointed in their colleagues for creating the impression to some media houses that they were not consulted before the deadline of March 15 was communicated to them.
One of the aggrieved persons told DAILY GUIDE, “It is not as if everybody is being asked to leave the place. Before the deadline we were hosted at the Flagstaff House and those affected were asked what they wanted to alleviate the inconvenience they are going to suffer. It is unfair for the issue to be in the media the way we are hearing it now.”
Information Minister, Dr. Mustpha Abdul Hamid, in a statement yesterday described as false information being peddled to the effect that the affected artisans and traders were given only a week to vacate the location.
In a correspondence to the president the squatters had requested for a grace period of six weeks, which he said was obliged.
In an earlier engagement with the artisans and traders by the Office of the President and the National Security, compensation packages were agreed upon, payment of which the president deemed an unnecessary burden on the national purse and therefore, paid from his pocket.
Another group, Junior Masters, who were not part of the earlier beneficiaries, emerged demanding in a letter dated 25th January, 2018 that they too be considered, a request which the president has agreed to.
The information minister recalled how following the declaring of Nana Akufo-Addo as president, taxi drivers in front of the residence on their own volition, decided to move to a new location for security reasons.
The National Security, Dr.Hamid added, “is continuing with the engagement process in order to ensure that their movement is done in a manner that accommodates their welfare as Ghanaians.”
A squatter who hails from the North and sells water and soft drinks, told DAILY GUIDE that her sister was given GH¢6,000 as compensation.
Some received as much as GH¢12,000 as compensation.
A few however, fell for the politicization of the subject as they took swipes at the order for them to relocate, to the chagrin of their colleagues who were appreciative of the golden handshake.
The many containers and kiosks directly opposite the president’s private residence create the only slum along the stretch from the Ring Road to the Circle Overpass. The slum is an eyesore on the Ring Road – a sight which some say should have long been cleared by the city authorities.
On Saturday there were heightened activities as some of the squatters moved out of the place with their belongings. A few hours after DAILY GUIDE had visited the place, a television crew landed to interview some of the squatters.
DAILY GUIDE has also found out that the reportage about the ejection had been exaggerated, considering the fact that it affects only the squatters and not the residents in the neighbourhood.
Only one barber has been affected by the marching orders, the other falling outside the ejection perimeter.
By A.R. Gomda