Effutu Assembly starts ejects former workers from houses

Winneba, Sept 8, GNA - The Effutu Municipal Assembly has ejected from their official residences six workers and their families who have either been transferred or retired.

This followed the striking-off of a suit filed by the workers against the Assembly by a Cape Coast circuit court on August 6.

The workers were claiming that the former Minister of Finance and Economic Planning during the former Kufuor administration said in a budget statement that Low Cost houses in the country would be sold to occupants.

They therefore went to court for the houses to be sold to them.

The case was been pending before the court since 2007 and on August 6 when it was called all the parties involved were absent from the court.

The judge, Mr Samuel Asare-Nyako said "since all parties and their counsels are absent, it seems that the parties are no longer interested in this suit, this suit is therefore struck off the trial list as per order 30 rule 1(1)".

The Assembly, on the same day, nailed the doors and disconnected electricity to the houses as a warning to the occupants to leave but they later in the evening removed the nails and reconnected power to the houses.

The following day a team from the assembly removed the doors and some of the windows of the houses.

The Effutu Municipal Chief Executive, Nii Ephraim, told the GNA that the Assembly took the decision to retrieve the buildings from the occupants who are no longer working with the Assembly and also not paying rent.

He said most workers who had been transferred to the Municipality had no place to stay, resulting in the payment of huge hotel bills by the government while others commuted from neighbouring towns to Winneba.