‘Sodom & Gomorrah sits on time bomb’

Chief Executive Officer of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Dr. Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, has warned dwellers of slum community, Sodom and Gomorrah, about a looming danger of being submerged into the Korle-Lagoon should they refuse to evacuate from the area.

His warning came when he led a team of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Environment to the scene of AMA’s demolition there to ascertain the degree of danger the people are likely to encounter should there be any other heavy rains within the capital.

The mayor noted that residents of Old Fadama also known as Sodom and Gomorrah are currently sitting on a time bomb after having constructed concrete structures on sawdust which were used to fill the Korle-Lagoon to create space for the construction of several unauthorised structures for habitation.

During the visit, it was discovered that one of the Komatsu branded excavators which was being used by city authorities for the demolition exercise had gotten stuck in mud underneath the sawdust used by the squatters to fill up the Korle Lagoon before erecting structures there.

Virtually all the heavy duty trucks, bulldozers and excavators at a point in time during the demolition exercise got stuck in the mud which is made up of refuse and sawdust, an indication that the area is not conducive for human habitation and that the lives of the people living in the area, mostly children, would be in danger should government continue to neglect the exercise of evacuating them from the area.

The Parliamentarians who after realising the level of danger the slum dwellers were being exposed to should they continue to build concrete structures for human habitation in the area became shocked.

The development, the AMA boss explained, gave credence to the fact that residents of Sodom and Gomorrah are ignorant of the dangers surrounding their habitation at the community, saying just about five inches of the layer of the ground had been covered with saw dust and sand, but beneath it is the basin of the Korle-Lagoon.

He said in the process of dredging the Korle Lagoon floods could take the residents by surprise anytime soon after the main blockade has been dredged.

The mayor warned that their regular process of reclaiming the land from the Lagoon Basin by dumping saw dust and sand into the area has been the major cause of flooding in all parts of Accra, especially the Central Business District.

He therefore appealed to Parliamentarians to help in the campaign to educate residents of Sodom and Gomorrah to avoid any further disaster that might occur during the process of dredging the lagoon.

Commending the mayor of Accra for his bold initiative after the disaster at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Environment, Hon. Dominic Azumah, said media coverage of the issue coupled with attacks on Dr. Okoe Vanderpuije buried the real issues on the ground.

However, a familiarization tour by every individual to the scene would make the people appreciate the situation and probably even commend the AMA boss for his efforts.

He also noted that the visit to the mayor’s office and the sight of the demolition has cleared lots of doubts in the minds of the committee members and urged Dr. Vanderpuije to move on with the demolition in the interest of mother Ghana.

He further said having been informed about the situation on the ground, the Committee would fully rally support in Parliament for the mayor and the AMA and appealed to the media to be circumspect and always acquaint themselves with the issues before passing comments and being judgmental in discussions on radio and television.

Hon. Dominic Azumah also indicated that the position of the mayor even though is enviable, is a difficult seat to occupy and challenged anyone who would want to pitch residents of Sodom and Gomorrah against the mayor to abort that idea.