By Philip Antoh
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Ablekuma North Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, Hon. Musah Kalamu has warned squatters, brothels and wee smokers occupying structures around the market land earmarked for lorry station to vacate the place.
According to the MCE, the assembly taskforce has already visited the place with a warning notice, but the problem persists.
The situation is such that wee smokers, prostitutes and the likes with their paymaster have built unauthorised structures operating illegal businesses around the market.
Speaking to The New Republic (TNR), Hon. Kalamu said the land harbouring these criminal activities was first secured by the Management of Mallam Market Traders Association for a lorry station, school and other auxiliaries but was immediately taken over by one chief Panpanku when power changed hands in 2016,
He said the assembly will soon open the Day Care Complex School built by the government to support the children of traders and the school cannot be in the same environment with these noise-making and illegal business operators.
“We have giving them a warning to vacate the land, but I’m told they are still there, so we are strategizing to embark on a demolition exercise very soon,” he stated.
The Chairman of the Mallam Market Traders Association, Nat Wystan Beaumonts, said Chief Panpanku and his agents have allocated about 90% of the lorry station land among themselves to the extend that wee camps, prostitutes and brothels have spring up in the market.
Nat said the current situation has led to strange people with vehicles trooping to the market area alleging they come to buy hard drugs from these wee camps putting fear and panic among the market women.
The chairman said what is more worrying is the fact that, there are pockets of buildings springing up at the wetlands and if care is not taken to stop these criminal elements, they will eventually block the water way and cause flood soon.
He called on the Assembly, the Ministry of Local Government to immediately embark on a demolition exercise to clear all these unstructured buildings, brothels, Wee camps and laud-music making spots from the area.