Henry Quartey, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, says his government would seek an injunction from the court on all buildings being built around the city’s waterways.
He made the remarks on a visit to the Kpeshie Lagoon in the La Dade-Kotopon Municipality, where several buildings had been erected on the lagoon’s banks.
Mr. Quartey had already demanded that buildings around rivers be demolished.
Any Accra municipal assemblies, such as the Accra Metropolitan Authority and the Ablekuma West Municipal Assembly, have threatened to demolish buildings along rivers to reduce the risk of flooding.
However, when he requires legal remedies, Mr. Quartey has sent a warning to developers who are committing those actions.
“I will seek the advice of the Attorney General as a matter of urgency to place an injunction on all buildings springing up on waterways.”
The minister said, “This would encourage the assemblies to now initiate an inquiry into which of them has actually encroached into the waterways and the Ramsar site.”
“This is merely a word of warning to developers. Hopefully, we would be able to get an injunction on all buildings and infrastructure along the wetlands, as well as other unauthorized or unauthorised structures, quite shortly. Anyone who tries to construct after we have the injunction will be arrested for contempt,” he said.
The National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) announced in 2018 that it was pursuing regulatory backing to demolish dams on wetlands, in accordance with legal proceedings.
It drafted a Legislative Instrument that would be submitted to Parliament for approval, allowing the exercise to be legal.
Source: ATLFMNEWSROOM
