A total of ninety-five (95) buildings have been marked for demolition in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO).
These buildings, per the assessment of NADMO, are dilapidated and pose a great risk to both occupants and residents.
Emma Akosua Adu-Boafo, an officer at the Manpower and Social Mobilizations Department of NADMO in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis details that fifty-six (56), twenty-one (21) and eighteen (18) weak buildings have been marked for demolition in the Essikado-Ketan, Sekondi and Takoradi sub-metro respectively.
In an exclusive interview with Connect FM on May 8, the NADMO official stressed that the structural integrity of these buildings is deemed hazardous, as they could easily collapse on people in their neighborhoods. However, the effort by NADMO is being frustrated by supernatural beliefs by some occupants and owners of these buildings.
“Most of these buildings are inherited properties from older generations. And there is a certain belief that you cannot demolish them anyhow. So, we are struggling to get them to understand the need for us to demolish them,” she explained.
She continued that notices have been served on the affected households and individuals about the intended demolition. However, getting them to comply with the orders has been challenging.
“For some of these buildings we are unable to reach the owners. For that reason, we have resorted to engage the court to issue orders for this demolition. It is our hope that we get to action these orders this year,” Adu-Boafo emphasized.
According to NADMO, the affected persons are obliged to foot the bill for the demolition. This arrangement perhaps is deterring the affected persons from acting on the orders.
In July 2019, five people were crashed to death after a mud house collapsed on them at Ngyiresia, a suburb of Essikado. Officials of NADMO reported that it was due to a torrential downpour in the area.
