Squatters Halt Hotel Project

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THE CONSTRUCTION of a new five-star international hotel complex earmarked for the former Accra Race Course in the heart of the capital city has been stalled following the refusal of squatters to free (quit) the site.

The 250-room hotel, which is to be constructed by leading international hotels group, Kempinski Hotels, at the cost of $49.4 million with funds from the Africa Development Bank and the ABSA Bank of SA is expected to provide jobs to more than 700 people. The Government of Ghana is the other financier.

However, after members of the Accra Turf Club who have the official mandate to run the racecourse have vacated the premises, squatters at the site, mostly jockeys, have refused to pack up despite repeated notices served on them.

Indeed, for most of the squatters, the racecourse is more than a home to them as the place has been turned into a residential hub (with a disturbing environmental situation.)

Also on the site illegally is Energo Project, a Yugoslavian Company, which has also been served quit notices but has failed to move out.

“We are not leaving here,” one squatter said with unwavering authority, signifying their stubborn attitude that also sends signals of a possible showdown with the legal owners of the land and security agencies.

The Accra Turf Club has been relocated to a site at Ashaley Botwe, where a modern race course is being constructed by the investors, Kempinski, at the cost of $2 million.

The squatters have described the new facility being constructed at Ashaley Botwe as not in their taste because the turf is clay and would not be conducive for horse racing.

According to Mr Joseph B. Baja, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Accra Turf Club, the squatters have been told that no jockey or horse owner would be allowed to turn the new race course into a residential place.

Mr Baja said the claim that the new facility being constructed at Ashaley Botwe, near the Accra-Tema Mortorway, was not suitable for horse racing was simply unfounded.

“It is a first-class facility and we opted for a sandy turf because it is easier to maintain than a grass turf,” Mr Baja stated.

Squatters had moved to the place when activities at the club were suspended as a result of the construction of the Accra International Conference Centre during the PNDC regime.

He explained that the PNDC government had tried to relocate them to a site at Nii Boi Town but that did not materialise because of lack of funds.

Mr Baja indicated that after the construction of the Accra International Conference Centre, the Accra Turf Club approached the authorities to allow them to use the turf until a new place was found for them.

The club, he said, had always been aware that it would be relocated and they had always communicated that to the squatters.

The Kempinski Hotels Group is reputed to be Europe's oldest luxury hotel group with more than 55 luxurious properties stretching across Africa, Asia, South America, Middle East and Europe.

Founded originally in Germany in 1897, Kempinski presently has properties in cities such as Budapest, Berlin, Beijing, St Moritz, London, Abu Dhabi, Istanbul and the Dead Sea.

It has won numerous international awards including the 2nd Best Hotel in Europe award by Business Traveller Germany.