TDC ejects over 300 Kaiser Flats tenants

BENJAMIN XORNAM GLOVER  

02 JULY 2017

Occupants of Kaiser Flats in Tema Community Four have had their properties thrown out following an eviction exercise yesterday morning.

More than 300 people have been rendered homeless following an eviction exercise carried out by the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) at Kaiser Flats in Tema Community Four.

Some macho men, under the protection of armed policemen as early as 5a.m. yesterday, forced their way into the rooms of the tenants and threw out the belongings of its occupants.

The affected residents, who included women and children, told the Daily Graphic that they had not been notified before the eviction exercise.
Information gathered by the Daily Graphic indicated that the TDC in 2013 secured an order from the Tema High Court to possess four block apartments within the Kaiser Flats at Tema Community Four.

Court order

Following the court order, the TDC served eviction orders and notified occupants of the impending demolition of the flats which had been declared uninhabitable due to serious structural defects.

The decision to demolish the building has resulted in a long-standing battle between the TDC and the occupants who have declared their resolve to resist any such move.
When the Daily Graphic visited the area yesterday, a number of rooms had been broken into, and properties belonging to the tenants thrown out.
Some of the tenants were seen going through their properties to see what could be salvaged.

Residents’ defiance

The Assembly member for the Horticulture Electoral Area, Mr Richard Anning, who acted as a spokesperson for the affected tenants, challenged the rights of the macho men and the police to carry out the eviction.

“We challenged them to produce whatever court order that they were acting on but they couldn’t show us the said court order so quickly I called the Metropolitan Chief Executive to inform him.

“He tried to talk to the leader of the group supervising the action but he refused to talk to him. The MP also tried but he refused to speak. They ended up ejecting the people.

“My worry is that they (the gang) came as early as 5 a.m. when most of the people were still in bed, while others were preparing their children for school.

“You could see the trauma that the children were going through this morning. If they had told us ahead of time, we would have assembled the people and prepared their minds, but we were not informed.”

Unfairness

In an interview, the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Felix Nii Annang Mensah-La, said the situation had not been fairly handled.

“I was told that at a Metropolitan Security meeting somewhere last year when the issue came up for discussion, there was clear information that before this eviction 
exercise is carried out, the TMA should be informed.

As a I speak to you, TMA has not been informed. So for me, I have decided not to comment on it since it’s a court order and one has to be careful when commenting.
That notwithstanding, those living here are Ghanaians. At least, one week sensitisation to move out of this place would have been enough,” he said.
The MCE said a meeting would be called for all stakeholders in the matter to sit and discuss the issue further.

Writer's email: benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh

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