CCMA demolishes illegal structures along the beach

The Cape Coast Municipal Assembly (CCMA) taskforce on Friday demolished dozens of kiosks and other unauthorised structures along the coastal stretch from the St. Augustine's College through to the Cape Coast -Elmina Highway.

The exercise was supervised by officials of CCMA in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service, Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), National Disaster Management Organisation [NADMO] and City Guards.

The Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority, Ghana, has warned severally that siting structures haphazardly without any expertise planning along the beach stretch could have serious consequences as erosion could set in and this will draw the sea closer to the land.

An official at the Assembly (who pleaded anonymity) in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, disclosed that the owners of the affected structures, as well as squatters, were given enough time to vacate the stretch because no permit was granted them.

According to the official, the Assembly will not relent in its efforts to protect its lands from encroachments by individuals and has, therefore, vowed to demolish all unauthorized buildings and also ensure the beach front were protected to prevent erosion.

However, the exercise did not affect structures with the requisite certified permits.

Owners of the affected structures expressed much displeasure as they indicated that they had invested in putting up such structures mostly drinking spots and eateries.

A victim of the demolition who gave his name as Sampson Abedu and three others threatened to sue the CCMA, claiming they had submitted their certified papers of authority and ownership of the structures to the Assembly, therefore, they saw no reasons for the exercise.