The Municipal Chief Executive of Okaikwei North, Boye Laryea, said the assembly will not sit aloof for disaster to strike before it demolished structures sited under the high tension poles of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
He said “we will remove all unauthorised structures under this high tension cable to save your lives and properties.”
Mr Laryea made this known on Monday at a stakeholders meeting to engage residents, chiefs and opinion leaders of ChristianVillage on the need to move their properties sited under high tension poles in Christian Village.
Over 100 unauthorised structures risked demolition for encroaching on Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) reserved lands.
The structures, including homes, chop bars, food vendors, lotto kiosks, metal containers, drinking spots, shops and churches, have been constructed under 11 KV High Tension cables.
The stretch of land spanning from the Golf Hills Road to the Lapaz Community Hospital Annex was set to be cleared for the safety of the occupants.
According to Mr Laryea, no amount of pleading from the encroachers would stop the assembly from doing the right thing, adding that “the assembly is bent on removing all unauthorised structures under this high tension cables in Christian Village.”
Quit letters and removal notices issued and written on the walls of some of the unauthorised structures from the Okaikwei North Municipal Assembly (ONMA) to the ‘squatters’ have gone unheeded.
However, speaking at the community engagement with the residents under the 11KV high tension, Mr Laryea said “it is not everything that pleading and begging can solve although the exercise will be executed with human face.”
The Municipal Coordinator, MrBenjamin Armah, said it was only right for the assembly to engage the community, indicating that it was not as though it was seeking permission from the people before carrying out its intended action.
He stated that the portion of land the people were occupying was for the government, stressing that they were illegally occupying the land.
Mr Armah said per the bye laws of ECG, it was illegal to build structures under high tension poles.
He called for peace and dialogue between the parties, explaining that the community engagement was crucial for them to salvage their belongings in the event of removing them from the place.
The ‘squatters’, while pleading with the assembly to be lenient with them, however denied any wrongdoing with regards to their connection with ECG,saying that some of them buy prepaid credits for their electricity metres.
The Ghanaian Times reported in its Tuesday edition that over 100 structures dotted along the Golf Hills and the Lapaz Community Hospital annex in the Okaikwei North Municipal Assembly (ONMA) have been asked to relocate for their own safety.
Owners of churches, houses, salons and food joints have encroached on government reserved lands for the Electricity Company of Ghana as their structures were situated right under the high tension lines of the company.
BY JEMIMA ESINAM KUATSINU
