Accra city authorities to evict residents of Sodom and Gomorrah

Accra, July 16, GNA - Residents of Sodom and Gomorrah would soon be evicted to pave way for the Accra Waste Management Project (AWMP). This will facilitate progress of work on the third phase of the Korle Lagoon Restoration project, being hampered by the squatter community, along the banks.

The first phase consisted of dredging, blocking of polluted water from upstream and the erection of Archimedean screen pumping machines to siphon polluted water into the sea. The third and the final phase is to reclaim lands along the banks to be developed into a down town tourist hub.

The project also aims at restoring the dead ecology of the lagoon and control drainage in the city.

However, management of the project and representatives of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, who on conducted newsmen round the site on Thursday, said Fresh human excreta packaged in plastic bags were freely flowing on the water. One of the labourers at the site said, "I am becoming tired of removing human faeces."

Mr. Daniel Ayidzoe, Project Supervisor said the Agbogbloshie canal was daily under siege from the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah who dumped polythene bags, human excreta and all kinds of pollutants. As result he said the canal must be dredged every two weeks to allow the flow of water. He said though notice had been given for the eviction, buildings continue to spring up with some of them less than hundred metres from the lake.

He said the high level of pollution put pressure on the float-debris- capture-boom, the device that stops the flow of debris (plastic wastes) into the pumping machines. Mr. Ayidzoe called on the government to urgently relocate residents at the slum else the huge amount of money invested in the project would go waste. "Unless they are ejected the project will fail," he said, stressing, "They act with impunity". Mr. Gert Truyens, Engineer of Dredging International, the company working on the project said the reason for blocking the water upstream was to prevent the lagoon from further pollution. He said the constant dredging of the lagoon could affect the cost of the project in the long term. 1