There
was controversy at the Diamond Pub and Grill spot at East Legon in
Accra last Thursday when a task force from the Accra Metropolitan
Assembly (AMA) tried to demolish the structure.
The facility is
owned by Madam Shatta Michy, wife of Ghanaian dancehall musician,
Charles Nii Armah Mensah Jnr. a.k.a. Shatta Wale and was among some
structures lying within the East Legon Green Belt zone and which had
been earmarked for demolition.
The task force had earlier demolished some unauthorized structures and walls in the area.
It,
however, had to spend several hours trying to demolish the facility
following pleas from Madam Michy and some residents not to demolish her
facility.
Madam Michy pleads:
Madam Michy initially claimed
that the keys to the facility were with one of her workers and was
waiting to pack out her belongings to enable the task force to pull down
the structure.
Officials of the AMA, who heeded to her pleas,
finally disconnected her facility from the electricity grid and seized
her electricity meter. She was given a one-week ultimatum to pull down
the structure.
This generated controversy as some officials among
the team from the AMA questioned why other people’s structures had been
demolished while others were let off the hook.
The Metropolitan
Co-ordinating Director of the AMA, Mr Sam Ayeh-Datey, in an interview,
said the developers whose structures had been pulled down would be
surcharged with the cost of demolition.
AMA warning:
He
said new developers entered the site having taken advantage of a court
writ served on the AMA by some residents seeking to restrain the
assembly from demolishing their structures but indicated that the AMA
would not relent in its efforts to pull down unauthorised structures.
“While
taking steps to set aside the said writ, the AMA observed that new
developers had encroached on the site because of the break in activity
as a result of summons served on the assembly and were erecting
structures with impunity.”
"Clearly, the activities of developers
within the East Legon Green Belt zone constitute a flagrant
disobedience of the judgement of the High Court that is dealing with the
matter,'' he said.
On April 13, 2017, the Accra Metro Security
Committee, headed by the AMA Chief Executive, Mr Mohammed Adjei Sowah,
issued a 21-day ultimatum to encroachers in the area to cease all
building activities within the Green Belt zone. |
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