By Patrick Ofoe Nudzi
Accra, Oct. 13, GNA – Owners, operators and workers of businesses affected by the demolition of structures at La Pleasure Beach are worried about their livelihoods, with many uncertain about the fate of their investments.
They said the silence surrounding their plight was worrying, as no entity had approached them to discuss their challenges nearly a week after the shoreline was cleared.
The demolition exercise, which took place in the early hours of Friday, October 2, saw about 30 structures, including multi-storey buildings along the shoreline, pulled down.
Mr Abdul Raman Ashietey, Communications Director of La Pleasure Beach Resort, said the exercise was carried out by some soldiers under the authority of Mr Richard Jakpa, Director of Special Operations at the National Security.
In interviews with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), affected persons recounted significant losses and appealed to the authorities to address their concerns.
Mr Thomas Yin, the Chief Executive Officer of No. 1 Spot at the beach, said his investment of more than $1 million had been destroyed after operating the business and creating jobs for about 40 years.
“We had packed our things outside before the demolition, but when they finished destroying our structures, they also destroyed our belongings that we had packed. That is unacceptable,” he said.
Madam Billy Jean, popularly known in the tourism sector as the Queen of Africa, said she lost her three-storey building, which housed a restaurant and bar.
She said she obtained a permit from the La Dade-Kotopon Municipal Assembly to construct the building and had since paid taxes to the Assembly, the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ghana Tourism Authority.
“I pray and hope that we are not being taken out for the place to be given to a foreigner. That decision will not be accepted. You don’t destroy Ghanaian businesses and allow foreign ones,” she said.
Mr Samuel Ofosu Acheampong, Chef and Manager of Baufwatch, a restaurant at the beach, said operators had been informed that the demolition would take place at the end of the year.
He appealed to the authorities to consider compensating the affected businesses for their losses.
Miss Innocentia Ordarley Ayi also appealed to the Government to provide her with space to continue her business, saying she had taken out a loan to operate and risked falling into serious debt following the demolition.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
Patrick Ofoe Nudzi