Fence walls constructed in waterways and along the Sakumo Ramsar site have been demolished in the first phase of a series of demolitions being embarked upon by the Greater Accra Regional Security Council.
The team led by Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, pulled down the structures to help preserve the ecological state of the Ramsar site and in fulfilment of the President’s directive to demolish all structures on waterways.
The Sakumor Ramsar site has been under threat for the past years following the construction of buildings on the site.
The situation has resulted in floods upstream as major water sources from the upper part of the country are unable to flow downstream and into the sea.
These waters often end up in people’s homes, rendering most citizens homeless.
The illegal structures have also caused the destruction of the ecological state of the Ramsar Site, which is a wetland of international importance for migrating animal life, especially birds, under the Ramsar Convention.
A joint security taskforce comprising the Military, Police and Immigration led by the Regional Minister pulled down all fence walls under construction in the core zone that is water ways at Klagon.
The Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, told journalists in an interview that “no order from above will stop the exercise which commenced this morning”.
He said about 2,500 government lands have been encroached upon with impunity.
Mr Quartey stated that it will take the officials three days to complete the first phase, after which a critical assessment by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources will lead to the next phase of marking and subsequent demolition of buildings on waterways.
Mr. Quartey further indicated that acres, including Ashaiman and the Tema Motorway, have been predicted to flood in the near future should the site go extinct.
Originally spanning over 3,500 acres, the Sakumor Ramsar Site is one of six in Ghana and serves as a holding bay for thousands of gallons of rainwater from upstream and adjoining communities.
