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19.10.2009 General News

President intervenes in Sodom and Gomorrah relocation exercise

By gna
President intervenes in Sodom and Gomorrah relocation exercise
19.10.2009 LISTEN

Accra, Oct. 18, GNA - Government at the weekend, directed the Accra city authorities to relocate residents of the Sodom and Gomorrah slum and handle the issue with sensitivity and a human face.

Consequently, President John Evans Atta Mills has tasked the Vice President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, to be at the helms of the situation to ensure that the intended dislodgment does not cause undue hardship to the affected persons.

Vice President Mahama therefore engaged stakeholders in the exercise at a closed door meeting at the Osu Castle on Friday on how to proceed with the programme.

Some of the officials at the meeting were; Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Nii Armah Ashietey, Greater Accra Regional Minister and Dr Alfred Vanderpuije, Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive.

Briefing the Castle press corps later, Mr John Abu Jinapor, Spokesperson for the Vice President, said the meeting arrived at a road map in dealing with the situation.

This, he explained, will include series of dialogue with stakeholders including the residents before the decongestion exercise is carried out.

Mr Jinapor said in line with this, Vice President Mahama would tour the slum next week as well as the proposed point of relocation at Adjen Kotoku, off the Accra-Kumasi road.

The slum, which is also known as Old Fadama, was the refuge for people escaping the ethnic conflict between Kokombas and Nanumbas in the Northern Region in the 1980's.

GNA

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