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Regional News of Sunday, 9 February 2014

Source: Abdul Karim Naatogmah

Adjin Kotoku landlords roar

Landlords of Adjin Kotoku in the Ga West Municipality in the Greater Accra region have unequivocally stated that no amount of persuasion will convince them to rescind their court action on halting the Municipal Assembly’s intended demolition exercise.

Their Spokesperson, Mr. Fankibi Yaw Joseph, in an interview with Citi News said the Municipal Chief Executive, Mr. Sam Atuquaye, failed to use dialogue to address their grievances which necessitated the court action.

“The MCE himself actually put the cart before the horse...he did not seek to engage us in any way; if he had done that the case probably wouldn’t have gotten to where it is now.”

He charged, “The MCE was so dismissive and so much burnt on destroying our properties and we made a promise to the people of Ghana that we were not going to resort to using lawlessness to seek redress; so the time of persuasion has passed because he had the window of opportunity to actually persuade us and engage us, but he has blown that chance.”

Mr. Fankibi said they had lost confidence in the MCE; “We can only trust the courts, and I can assure you that per the disposition of the MCE now, we do not have enough confidence in him that he will ensure social justice for us, and that is why we have resorted to the court to seek justice.”

Meanwhile, the Municipal Chief Executive for the Ga West Assembly, Mr. Sam Atuquaye has described the court action as unfortunate.

According to him, the outcome of the court injunction will determine the assembly’s next line of action.

About 86 landlords in Adjin Kotoku secured an interlocutory court injunction restraining the Ga West Municipal assembly from demolishing their buildings.

This followed the Assembly’s notice of carrying out the exercise in the area to pave way for the relocation of activities at Sodom and Gomorra.