By Kofi Akordor
A friend narrated the experience he had with a neighbour with whom he shared a wall who was erecting a structure, quite contrary to the building code for their residential area in one of the communities of Tema. He said he made a friendly approach his neighbour to remind him of the anomaly but the neighbour retorted that once the plot belonged to him he could do anything on it.
My friend said having failed with his approach, he reported the matter to the authorities at the Tema Development Corporation (TDC), the managers of Tema lands, who confirmed the building code for their area and promised to ensure that the illegality ceased forthwith.
As of the time of writing this article, the officers at the TDC were yet to get the teeth to bite and apply the laws of their own making. Meanwhile, they have got the vigour and frenzy to be knocking down wooden and metal structures which they have allowed over the years to sprout all over the once beautiful port city of Tema, eroding it of its prestige and image.
Out of ignorance or arrogance on the part of developers and irresponsible behaviour on the part of mandated institutions of state, a pervasive culture of impudence and impunity has been allowed to creep into our building practices which has rendered our cities and towns not only an eyesore but also most parts have become disaster-prone areas.
As a result of the failure of our city authorities to react quickly to such infractions of the building code and draw attention to the illegalities, many developers and squatters have come to the conclusion that they were right and any belated attempt to correct the evils of the past is given various interpretations which, in the main, are not complementary.
That was why when the residents of Sakaman, a suburb of Accra, woke up to see bulldozers tearing down their structures built on watercourses and at other unauthorised places, their only conclusion was that they were being punished for voting overwhelmingly against the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC). Not that such arguments make any sense to many people, but in a country where we indulge in vicious politics, as against the national interest, such statements are likely to win sympathy from politicians with crooked and selfish ambitions.
Mr Stanley Nii Adjiri-Blankson, the Metropolitan Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) in the immediate past regime, was a victim of such a political opportunism when his attempts to restore sanity to certain parts of Accra came to a severe jolt. Others before him were similarly not lucky. This tradition went on over the years until Accra, our administrative capital and largest city, became a huge jungle of poorly developed communities.
Honestly, any objective person returning from most of the world capitals will admit that Accra, in its current form, does not represent the aspirations of the people of this country, nor does it express the desire of this country to attain a middle-income status in the nearest future.
The current MCE of the AMA, Mr Albert Nii Vanderpuije, has embarked on another brave and ambitious mission to undo the evils of the past and purge the national capital of iniquities, so far as the erection of structures at unauthorised places is concerned. As was expected, vilification and condemnation came from various quarters, including some members of his own government. So far, the AMA under Mr Vanderpuije has remained resolute and the exercise appears to be on course.
However, it has concentrated mainly on shacks and buildings belonging to those commonly described as the ordinary people. It, therefore, came as big news when the Daily Graphic published in its March 12, 2010 issue a declaration by Nana Adjei Ampofo, the Chairman of the Lands Commission, that there was going to be a major demolition of illegal structures along the Accra-Tema Motorway after March 31, 2010.
Affected structures included parts of the Accra Mall, Trassaco offices and some of its estate houses, Action Chapel International, Sidalco Limited and Metallic, a warehouse belonging to MTN, Grand Oak and OIC Vocational Institute.
There was excitement because, for once, Ghanaians were beginning to believe that the demolition exercise was going to assume a new dimension and the authorities were going to apply the rules fairly and firmly without regard to names and titles. That would also assure members of the public that the exercise was not selective and its motives were in the national interest.
There was also apprehension and scepticism, as some of these things are easier said than done. There was, therefore, a feeling of let-down among many Ghanaians and the confirmation of their fears when March 31, 2010 came and went by without Nana Adjei carrying out his threat. He assured the public, though, that there had been an extension of the deadline for affected companies and individuals to reorganise themselves and that the exercise would go into full gear in a month’s period. That gives us up to the middle of this month for the public to see Nana Ampofo’s squad in full blast.
It is too early yet to suspect that Nana Adjei would eat his own words and go down the path of others who made similar threats in the past. But the nation stands to lose greatly and the exercise will be seriously undermined if the impression is created that some people or institutions are above the law, while ordinary citizens become victims of an illegality which has become the norm instead of the exception.
Any failure on the part of Nana Adjei and the AMA to execute to the letter their mandate will also open the floodgates for another bout of illegalities and strengthen the argument among some politicians that decongesting and demolition exercises have more political undertones than the national interest.
We pray that we shall not be disappointed.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
