The Afigya Kwabere South District Assembly has begun moves to demolish over 6000 buildings at Ntiriho Buoho, Krobo, Hemang among other communities in the Ashanti region.
According to the Assembly, the quarry zone reserved by the minerals commission for mining and security services shooting range, has been encroached on for years.
The assembly, acting on the instruction of the minerals commission and the local government ministry has officially served demolish notice, on the landlords whose buildings fall about 500 meters to the quarry site.
Ultimate FM’s Isaac Justice Bediako reports that the once farming areas are fast developing into estate infrastructures with over 6000 buildings situated in the zones.
Per the mining act, the nearest residence to a mining site should range for about 500 meters, but the assembly assessment on the level of encroachment in the quarry zone confirmed that 874 houses have encroached the zone at 100 meters, 1669 at 200 meters, 2441 houses at 300 meters and 3929 landlords site their structures at about 500 meters.
A development the mineral commissions says poses a lot of threat to the life of the persons who have encroached the quarry zone with buildings.
However, the landlords insist they accrued the lands from the late Dadiesoabahene before the rocky mountain was released for quarry by the government hence they have no place to move to after investing their resources in their buildings.
A 74-year-old pensioner Maame Afia Serwaa whose pension building has been marked for demolished told Bediako she wants the government to reconsider its decision to mine the rocky mountain.
A landlord who gave her name as Kofi Taller said the Assembly has never engaged them on the said encroachment.
He questioned why the assembly has been taking property rate tax from landlords for years knowing the area was a quarry zone.
District Chief Executive for Afigya Kwabere South Christian Adu-Peter who spoke to Ultimate FM off-record indicated that the rocky maintain is worth millions of dollars which can’t be sacrificed for estate infrastructures.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Justice Isaac-Bediako
