Lands commission pulls down structures in Tamale
About 300 retired soldiers, their families and the pupils of the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) Girls’ Primary School whose houses and school building were located around the Kaladan Barracks in the Tamale metropolis are in a state of helplessness, following the demolition of their structures by the Lands Commission.
The veterans, who were the most hit by the exercise, are struggling to find a place to lay their heads.
Parents of pupils of the only girls’ primary school in Tamale will also have to look for admission for their children before the start of the new academic year in September.
When the Daily Graphic visited the area, it looked deserted and quiet, with all the structures gone, except a public toilet.
There were heaps of broken wood and cement blocks and piles of damaged roofing materials.
Occasionally, passers-by stopped to take a glance at the debris.
The Lands Commission had earlier this year asked the residents to quit the area because they had encroached on the land.
But the veterans, on June 13, 2013, instituted a legal action against the Lands Commission at the Tamale High Court.
A notice from the Lands Commission explained that the exercise was to decongest the central business district of Tamale to make it a first-class commercial hub, a gateway to the metropolis and give the city a facelift.
One of the victims, Major Mahamadu Alhassan (retd), who was obviously despaired, said he was shocked that the house he had lived in for more than 15 years had been demolished.
The retired major, who is also the Tamale District Chairman of the Veterans Association of Ghana, described the action by the Lands Commission as "inhumane and insensitive to veterans who had contributed their quota to the country's development".
"My house was the first to go because I am the leader and no one was allowed to take away his or her belongings," he said sorrowfully.
According to him, some of his fellow veterans who had stayed in the area for more than 30 years were now homeless.
The head teacher of the TMA Girls’ Primary School, Mr Joseph Abayaruk, said whether or not there would be a school for his pupils before schools reopened in three weeks was a matter for the Ghana Education Service and the TMA to sort out.
By Vincent Amenuveve/Daily Graphic/Ghana
