Tema West NPP protests over demolition exercise

Some aggrieved members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Tema West constituency have called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to bring the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Felix Annan-La, to order for what they described as his ‘rampant demolition’ of structures in the metropolis.

Speaking to journalists at a press conference at Tema, Accra to register their displeasure at the demolition of some structures at the CMB Quarters on the 31st of August, 2017 Constituency Organiser, Emmanuel Arhin, said the action of the MCE was likely to affect the party in the constituency.

According to him, MCE did not engage the Member of Parliament (MP) of the constituency to find an alternative place for the traders before ejecting them.

Mr. Arhin revealed that most of the traders who had erected containers at the place had permits and site plans issued to them by the TMA, and also paid levies to the assembly.

He noted that as members of the party, they suffered a lot to bring the party to power as such they would not sit unconcerned for any individual to thwart their efforts.

Mr. Arhin said the demolition of the structures would only increase the number of unemployment in the metropolis.

For his part, Campaign Manager of the NPP in the Tema West constituency, Nana Boakye, also said the assembly needs to engage members of the party and the MP before taking up demolitions.

He said the MCE has disrespected the MP of the constituency as such the need for him to be sacked.

Most of the traders Today spoke to alleged that the Assembly member for the area, Mary Enu, collected monies ranging from 1000 to 1500 Ghana Cedis before allowing them to put up containers there.

According to them, she usually takes these monies to facilitate their permits at the TMA.

However, in an interview with Mary Enu, she denied ever collecting monies from anyone to give a piece of land for them to put up containers for trading purposes.

“Let anyone who claims I took monies from them produce an evidence, I rather warned them against that because I know that that piece of land has sewerage lines and cannot give it out for businesses,” she indicated.

However, an attempt to speak to the MCE proved futile because he was attending to an important meeting in Accra.