La Pleasure Beach: The Demolition Ghana's Opposition Says It Will Not Let Fade

Early on Friday morning, 2 October, bulldozers moved onto La Pleasure Beach in Accra. By the time they stopped, one of the country's best-known leisure spots was largely rubble, along with the neighbouring Polo Beach Club. Four days on, the demolition is more than a property dispute. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has made it a political issue and says it will not be forgotten.

What happened
According to reports, security personnel arrived at about 4:00 a.m. The operation involved members of the Ghana Armed Forces' 48 Engineer Regiment and the Ghana Police Service, under National Security supervision.

Some operators said they had received two weeks' notice but did not take it seriously, and others said the notice was inadequate. They lost goods and equipment. One trader said she lost about GH¢10,000 of stock. The La Dade-Kotopon MP, Rita Naa Odoley Sowah, who is also a Deputy Minister, confronted the security personnel at the scene.

The official explanation
The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), which owns the Labadi Beach Hotel and the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, said it asked National Security for help to protect "assets belonging to Ghanaian workers." It said the beaches would be cleaned and would remain open to the public.

Deputy Chief of Staff Stan Dogbe said the operation was done at the request of Labadi Beach Hotel and was not a flood-mitigation exercise. He said the hotel considered the structures harmful to its safety, tranquillity and reputation, and he raised concerns about sanitation and security at unregulated businesses on the beachfront. He also said the area should not be confused with La Pleasure Beach, although reports say La Pleasure Beach was affected.

La Pleasure Beach management rejects the "squatter" label. It says it operates on lawfully acquired land, did not encroach on the beachfront and can produce documents to prove it. Operators of the Polo Beach Club have taken legal action over the contested land. The courts, not the political arguments, may decide who is right on ownership.

Why the NPP says it won't forget
NPP flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia condemned the demolition in a statement on 3 October, calling it wanton and bizarre. He described La Beach as socially, economically and culturally significant and a source of livelihood for thousands of young people.

He said it supported the Year of Return and hosted international events. He said it was painful that movable property that owners could have removed was destroyed. He pledged, if the NPP wins the next election, to turn La Beach into a major tourism and economic enclave, to save the jobs it supports, and to back leases and redevelopment for affected businesses. He also outlined a five-point plan for restoring the beach economy, which I could not retrieve in full.

This is the NPP's political case, and it has force. The demolition came at dawn, was carried out by soldiers and left workers stranded, at a time when the government promotes a 24-hour economy and job creation. Even an MP of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said the party was neither informed nor involved, and that she had been assured the Pleasure Beach was not part of the exercise.

That raises an obvious question about who authorised an operation of this scale and why the political leadership appears to have been caught off guard.

The other side
Fairness requires noting what the Government and SSNIT say. The beachfront belongs to a pension fund that holds the contributions of Ghanaian workers, and a hotel owned by that fund is entitled to ask for its premises to be protected.

Concerns about sanitation, security and unregulated commercial activity on the shoreline are real. The Government also points out that the beach will remain open to the public.

The NPP, for its part, can expect scrutiny of its own record on land, demolitions and public assets while it was in office, and of how it would reconcile its pledges with the claims of the pension fund and with environmental and planning rules.

What should happen now
Whatever the political advantage, the affected people deserve answers. These are the questions that matter most:

Who ordered it? The roles of National Security, SSNIT, Labadi Beach Hotel and the military need to be explained plainly.

On what legal basis? If the land title or the operators' rights are in dispute, a court order or a clear lawful process should come before the bulldozers.

What notice was given? Two weeks, or none, for traders who store stock on site is a poor standard.

Is there compensation or help? Workers who lost their livelihoods need more than reassurance.

What next for the beach? SSNIT says it will remain public, so details of the clean-up and any plans for the site should be published.

La Dadekotopon's MP says a stakeholders' meeting will bring together traditional authorities, the hotel, the operators and others [12]. That is a start. The real test is whether it produces compensation, a clear plan and accountability.

Political parties come and go. A beach that employs thousands will be remembered by the people who worked there, and by how fairly the state treated them in the end.

Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,

International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding. (USIP)

Mustysallama@gmail.com
+233555275880

References
MyJoyOnline, "Bawumia condemns La Pleasure Beach demolition, questions destruction of movable assets": https://www.myjoyonline.com/bawumia-condemns-la-pleasure-beach-demolition-questions-destruction-of-movable-assets/

Graphic Online, "La Pleasure Beach at ground zero – National Security demolishes all structures": https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-news-la-pleasure-beach-at-ground-zero-national-security-demolishes-all-structures.html

Ghanaian Times, "La Pleasure Beach demolition; MP says govt unaware," 2 October 2026: https://ghanaiantimes.com.gh/la-pleasure-beach-demolition-mp-says-govt-unaware/

3News, "Several structures demolished at La Pleasure Beach": https://3news.com/news/several-structures-demolished-at-la-pleasure-beach

Graphic Online (as above) for trader accounts of notice and losses.

MyJoyOnline, "SSNIT says La Beach clearance was to protect hotel investments, beaches to remain public": https://www.myjoyonline.com/ssnit-says-la-beach-clearance-was-to-protect-hotel-investments-beaches-to-remain-public/

MyJoyOnline, "Friday's beachfront demolition was carried out at Labadi Beach Hotel's request, not for flood mitigation – Stan Dogbe": https://myjoyonline.com/fridays-beachfront-demolition-was-carried-out-at-labadi-beach-hotels-request-not-for-flood-mitigation-stan-dogbe

DailyGuide Network, "We Are Not Squatters – La Pleasure Beach": https://dailyguidenetwork.com/we-are-not-squatters-la-pleasure-beach/

The Ghana Report, "Bawumia condemns demolition of La Pleasure Beach": https://theghanareport.com/news/bawumia-condemns-demolition-of-la-pleasure-beach/

Adomonline, "Bawumia condemns demolition of La Pleasure Beach, pledges to rebuild beach economy": https://www.adomonline.com/bawumia-condemns-demolition-of-la-pleasure-beach-pledges-to-rebuild-beach-economy/

DailyGuide Network, "Bawumia Condemns La Pleasure Beach Demolition": https://dailyguidenetwork.com/bawumia-condemns-la-pleasure-beach-demolition/

GhanaWeb, "NDC has no hand in La Pleasure Beach demolition – La Dadekotopon MP": https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/NDC-has-no-hand-in-La-Pleasure-Beach-demolition-La-Dadekotopon-MP-2055090

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