Amnesty International has asked the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey to halt the ongoing demolition of structures in the capital.
Board Chair of the human rights group, George A.B Aggre said that the continuous use of forced evictions infringes on the rights of citizens.
A number of structures illegally sited were demolished in the Greater Accra Region as part of the ‘Make Accra work’ agenda. The ongoing exercise started in April 9, last year.
With the support of the security agencies, traders who had illegally occupied the pavements in the Central Business District (CBD) were cleared, while illegal structures on the shoulders of roads were also removed.
However, Amnesty International has issued a stern warning saying it is not happy with the approach adopted by the regional minister.
“ The Greater Accra Regional Minister’s ‘Let’s Make Accra Work’ campaign involved demolishing illegal structures. As part of the campaign, on 5 July, authorities demolished homes of people living in the Railway Quarters along Graphic Road in Accra, making them homeless. Former residents told the media they were not given adequate notice.
“In the same month, about 3,000 woodworkers at Kaase-Angola in the Asokwa Municipality, who had been operating in the area for decades, were requested to vacate the area after the government allegedly sold the land to a private company. The woodworkers stated that it would deprive them of an adequate place to work, affecting their livelihood”. Amnesty International boss said
Mr. George Aggrey added that the proper thing to do is to resettle the affected people before any demolishing takes place. According to him, their investigations reveal that the affected people are homeless.
With particular reference to Journalists, the report indicated there were several incidents of excessive and unnecessary use of force by security agencies.
Amnesty International Ghana therefore said the state must uphold freedoms and rights.
By Richard Bright Addo|editors.3news.com|Ghana
