Residents gather around to help demolish buildings
Residents of Old Fadama in Accra have demolished some structures located some 20 meters from the Korle Lagoon, to pave the way for trees to be planted to serve as a buffer.
Speaking to the media during the exercise last Saturday, the Chairman of the Old Fadama Informal Settlements, Mr. Thomas Yao Asare, told journalists that the exercise forms part of measures by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to protect the Korle Lagoon Restoration Project and green the area, as part of the “Greening Ghana Agenda.”
He commended the Chief Executive Officer of the AMA, Mr. Mohammed Adjei Sowah, for his support in the exercise.
“Dialogue is very important in community development”, he said, adding: “In a show of good faith, we followed the directions of the mayor and used our resources to demolish structures 20 meters from the Lagoon on Saturday,” he said.
He pointed out that people from various tribes had settled in the area and there was the need to work together to sustain livelihoods, alleviate poverty and improve the standards of living.
Mr. Alhassan Baba Fuseini, a community leader, said: “No Old Fadama resident is an antithesis to development”.
“What we have done shows that dialogue always goes a long way.”
“By working together, we can do so much to alleviate poverty and bring development to the tens of thousands of people who live in the Old Fadama settlement,” he added.
Abdulai Yakubu, a Community Organiser, commended the government through the mayor for entering into dialogue with the residents.
“Bringing down parts of Old Fadama on our own shows good faith, and what can be achieved when there is an open line of communication between the urban poor and the government of Ghana. We will never resist social intervention,” he said.
He expressed appreciation to a local Non-Governmental Organisation; the People’s Dialogue, for supporting the demolition exercise and called on other NGOs to support the urban poor.