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Demolition of Old Parliament House illegal - AMA
The Old Parliament House is being pulled down to enable a new one to be constructed at a cost of GH¢15 million, but the AMA says the move is illegal.
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The demolition is being done four years after a fire destroyed portions of the building which housed the Citizens Vetting Committee (CVC), the Judgement Debt Commission, the CHRAJ and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).
The move is also to enable a new one to be constructed at a cost of GH¢15 million, the Daily Graphic reports.
The Old Parliament House accommodated Ghana’s legislators during the tenure of Dr Kwame Nkrumah till 1981 when the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) ousted the government of the People’s National Party (PNP).
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As the demolition begins, many Ghanaians are fuming because they feel that Ghana is losing one of its historical landmarks which have been the foundations of the country’s democracy.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive of Accra, Adjei Sowah said he is also surprised about the demolition.
He explained that CHRAJ, which occupies some offices in the building complex had written to the Assembly for permission to demolish the structure, but it was yet to be given that go-ahead.
“It has come to me as a surprise because sometime last month CHRAJ wrote a letter to us indicating their intention to demolish the property… so we wrote back to them that the property in question is a national asset and it is important that we get clearance from the government because that particular property was once an AMA property where it was a City Hall. Then they wrote back to us about a week ago that they were established by an act of parliament and were given that property,” he told Accra-based Citi FM.
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“We are yet to meet to respond to that… I have not heard anything from them again. We are actually in a meeting with my management discussing the matter. State agencies should also know better and act in accordance with law. If you want to pull down that building you need a permit from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly before you do that, and they have not gotten the permit yet before acting on that ”he added.
He further disclosed that members of the Assembly were meeting to take a decision on over the matter.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of CHRAJ, Joseph Whittal, has insisted that the demolition was to protect the health and safety of the workers of CHRAJ.
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