Reports Reaching our desk attest to the fact that the residents of Senya Electoral Area in the Ayawaso North Municipality of the Greater Accra Region continue to leave in fear of a demolition threat being emitted to them daily by the Municipal Chief Executive, MCE, Hon. Aminu Mohammed Zakari.
History has it that in the early 1960s, the then Accra Municipal Council now the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) authorised the release of a portion of land now known as the Kasoa Kuda to private developers for the building of market stores.
With the increasing population in Accra and Ghana’s current housing deficit being in excess of 1.2 million, some portions of stores privately constructed by individuals were converted into residences which the Municipal Assembly collects monthly Levies/Rents from their residents, who are their tenants.
All meetings by the leadership of the Senya Electoral Area in the Ayawaso North Municipality led by Hon. Wisdom Boateng, the Assembly Member for the Area with the MCE, Hon. Aminu Mohammed Zakari and MP, Hon. Yussif Jajah Issaka, evidence that the Assembly has no future plans for the residents after the demolition.
Discussions on the possible relocation of over 7,000 residents or the compensation of private individuals who the Accra Metropolitan Assembly gave the authorisation to enable them to embark on the construction of the stores in the area, which the Assembly continues to take rent have been thrown into the dustbin.
It is alleged that the MCE, Hon. Aminu Mohammed Zakari is recorded on tape trying to bribe some leaders of the Senya Electoral Area to accept an undisclosed amount of money to sign documents to give way for the demolition of a fully occupied 7.29 hectares (72,866.08 m²) parcel of land.
Ghana, in the past, welcomed Liberians and other African refugees and accommodated them for almost 20 years. Are the citizens of Maamobi Kasoa Kuda Residents lesser human beings than the Refugees we accommodated in the past?
With the current economic situation in the country, notifying a community of over 7, 000 Ghanaians to relocate within 21 days with a notification just on 21st July 2022, morally, humanly, and constitutionally right?
Are the citizens of Maamobi Kasoa Kuda Scatters? Do Scatters pay rents for occupying state land? Do the Municipal Assembly have legal right to demolish private properties built with the authorization of the AMA as far back as the 1960s without compensation to property owners?
The posture of the MCE, Hon. Aminu Mohammed Zakari is a clear violation of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Resolution 1993/77, which states, “The practice of forced eviction constitutes a gross violation of human rights, in particular the right to adequate housing”, and must be brought to order by the president of the republic.
A letter indicated that the Maamobi Kasoa Kuda residents in the Ayawaso North Municipality have petitioned the President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo but are yet to receive any response from Mr. President.
The Assembly Member, Hon. Wisdom Boateng called on the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr. Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu, The Chairman of the Christain Council of Ghana, Rt. Rev. Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante, The Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice, the United Nations on Human Rights office, and all Ghanaians to come to their aid before this gross injustice and human rights abuse is carried out.
