The Tema Police Tuesday arrested Sledge Nana Yaw Doudu, a businessman, for allegedly threatening to shoot the operator of an excavator hired by the Tema Metropolitan Assembly to dig a storm drain at Tema Community 18.
The police seized the pistol with ammunition and took a statement from the suspect, who claimed to be the owner of the land on which the drain was being dug, before granting him bail.
Briefing journalists at the project site yesterday, the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) of Tema, Mr. Felix Mensah Nii Anang-La, said the land was part of a waterway that had been reclaimed by Doudu, ostensibly for estate project.
Mr. Nii Anang-La said the development affected the smooth flow of water, causing flooding anytime it rained heavily, adding that the assembly decided to construct a storm drain to avert flooding in the area.
He said a fence wall erected on the land would also be demolished, adding that “on June 6, this year, during torrential rains, the area popularly known as ‘Cambodia’ flooded heavily, leaving 20 houses partly submerged and displacing about 200 people.”
Mr. Anang-La said, but for officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation and personnel from the Ghana Navy, who saved the situation, some victims would have drowned.
He said that the reclamation of the land was illegal because the assembly had not granted anyone permit to do so.
Mr. Anang-La said a few moments after the operator commenced work, Mr. Doudu stormed the site, and ordered the operator to stop work.
The MCE said the operator ignored the instruction, and Mr Doudu removed a pistol from his car, brandishing it at the operator.
The operator alighted from the excavator and Mr Doudu removed keys to the machine.
Mr. Anang-La said the assembly would demolish all structures on waterways to avert flooding.
He said “We cannot look on and allow a few people to block waterways with structures. The assembly is going to court to obtain orders to pull down all such projects.”
The NADMO Coordinator of Tema Municipal Assembly (TMA), Hajia Zainab Abdulai, said residents of Community 18 petitioned the assembly about the land reclamation, but Mr. Doudu turned down the assembly’s invitation for a discussion over the issue.
The Tema Metropolitan Chief Engineer, Maxwell Adu-Boateng said
that the joint committee of experts from TMA and Tema Development Corporation that approves building permits in the Tema Metropolis has not received any application regarding the reclaimed land.
From Godfred Blay Gibbah, Tema
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