AMA In Another Dawn Demolition Exercise

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AMA

A dawn operation by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) at Kissehman Junction culminated in the demolition of a structure which had been identified to be unsafe.

The seven-hour operation led by the Director of Metro Works Department of the AMA, Mr Victor Mensah, and assisted by a combined police team drawn from the Achimota Police Station and the AMA Metro Guards and Task Force followed a declaration by the Mayor on Wednesday, April 2, 2014, that the building in question was unsafe and, therefore, further development on it should cease immediately and the structure demolished.

This building was sighted when the Mayor led a team of heads of department, Sub-Metro Directors and Chairpersons on a routine inspection of the Metropolis on March 26, 2014.
An investigation carried out by a private architect revealed that the building under construction was a three-storey building comprising  stores on two storeys and aresidential apartments. It is located on the 4th Plot off Kissehman Junction, off the Achimota-Legon road which was owned by one Mavis Akua Serwaa. It also came to light that construction commenced in January 2013 and they had no building permit, land title documents and  no building plan.

The only person who seemed to have any connection to the structure is one Mr Eric Boadu, who claimed to be a brother to the owner of the building. Neither the building contractor who was mentioned as Samuel Adu-Gyamfi nor the consultant could be traced.

Before the AMA undertook this exercise, Mr Eric Boadu had been invited to the Accra Planning Committee meeting on Tuesday, April 1, 2014, to come and explain why such a structure was being developed without permit and with such visible defects. When he could not give any plausible explanation he was informed of the National Building Regulations (NBR) of 1996, L.I. 1630 and the Accra Buildings Regulation of 1944, which empowers the AMA to take any action it deems fit on buildings without permit and those that are seen as dangerous to public safety.

The building itself was visibly defective with the columns not properly aligned, with some of the beams being supported with wooden poles. The demolition exercise revealed the unsuitability of materials used in the construction. Neighbours had repeatedly expressed concern about the safety of the structure  but their reports fell on deaf ears.  According to one Mr Teye, he had personally pointed out some defects he identified in the structure, but the contractor did not pay heed  so to him the demolition was welcome relief.

After the demolition, Mr Eric Boadu, who was at the scene, pleaded with the team to allow him to remove the iron rods in the demolished structure and clear the debris. He was however informed that he would be surcharged for all costs incurred by the AMA in the demolition exercise.

Source : thegeneraltelegraph

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