By Elizabeth Larkwor Baah
Tema, March 29, GNA -Artisans operating from a greenbelt between Tema Technical Institute and the Motorway Interchange have called on the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) to relocate them to an alternative position before turning the place into a transit vehicle park.
Mr Evans Doe Tottimeh, spokesperson for the artisans, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that they had been transacting economic activities on the land for years and had contributed to the development of the area and the local economies of Tema.
Mr Tottimeh said that the continuous threat from TMA to eject them from the place was worrying, saying that they had not vacated the place because they had nowhere to go.
He said that a task force from TMA visited the area last week and warned that failure to vacate the place in a week would leave the Assembly with no option but to forcefully eject them.
He, however, said that they had tried their best to get a place to move their things to but to no avail, adding that the situation was unfair.
He said they were paying their tolls and taxes as required of them as citizens and also offered employment and training for the youth.
He said evicting the artisans from the place would not only affect their activities and livelihood but also the students of Tema Technical Institute, who undertake their practicals with them.
Meanwhile, Mr. Yohane Armah Ashitey, the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), has visited the place and appealed to the artisans to move out of it, explaining that a resolution was passed by the assembly to use the place as a park for transit vehicles.
Mr. Ashitey explained that due to the status of Tema as a port and industrial city, most of the haulage tracks transacting business in the West Africa Sub-region use the shoulders of the roads in Tema as their parking place after being discharged from the port.
He added that the situation had caused the loss of lives through accidents, saying that such incidents were making Tema unpopular, leading to the Assembly passing a resolution to use the space as a parking terminal for transit vehicles.
The MCE debunked the assertion that the property was given to a private investor, adding that the Assembly would prosecute truck drivers who fail to park at the terminal after its construction.
Mr. Abraham Lartey, a social activist based in Tema, reacting to the intentions of the TMA to turn the greenbelt into a terminal, told the GNA in an interview, that the move was contrary to the reason for reserving the land, which serves as a buffer for the residents in case of any natural disaster.
He added that the place also served as a carbon footprint between the industries and the community; therefore, turning the place into a transit terminal would not help, as it would mean the trees would be cut down to make it easy for loaded haulage trucks to move in and out of the place.
GNA