Soldiers demolish unauthorised buildings

Accra (Greater Accra) 6 Oct. '99 - The Ghana Armed Forces on Tuesday demolished a number of unauthorised structures on lands belonging to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture at Tema Community 20.

It involved the pulling down of an uncompleted five bedroom house said to belong to an Italian, several walled plots, foundations of several buildings yet to be raised and wooden structures.

The lands, which spans an area of 691 hectares, houses the Nungua Livestock Breeding Station of the Animal Production Department and has been encroached upon by developers.

Mr Edwin Bekoe, Farm Manager for the Breeding Station, said a few people who had encroached on the land were for the past two years asked persistently by the ministry to stop further development but they declined.

He said the ministry contacted the Lands Commission, which gave them the go- ahead to demolish the illegal structures.

When newsmen arrived at the scene, a bulldozer and an excavator belonging to the 49 Engineers Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces, were on stand by awaiting orders from the Lands Commission to pull them down.

The military declined to comment on the exercise because they said they were only tasked by the Lands Commission to demolish the structures.

Lands Commission representatives however did not show up to give approval for the demolition even after persistent calls but the operation was carried out.

When the press asked whether the structures were registered, Mr Bekoe said he was not in a position to comment.