SUHUM-KROBOA-COALTAR TO EMBARK ON DECONGESTION (PAGE 22)

THE SUHUM-Kraboa-Coaltar District Assembly in the Eastern Region has decided to decongest some areas of Suhum, the district capital,to prevent disasters such as floods and fire outbreaks.
The exercise,the first of its kind to be undertaken in the area, would involve demolition of structures and houses on watercourses and places earmarked for roads.
Under the exercise, owners of such structures or buildings would not be paid any compensation, but would rather pay for the cost of demolition.
The District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Samuel Fleisher-Kwabi, dropped the hint in an answer to a question at a workshop on planning and physical development which was organised by the assembly last Tuesday, to educate developers and other stakeholders such as chiefs on all aspects of development, particularly land acquisition in the district.
The questioner had wanted to know about efforts being made by the assembly to assist people whose houses had been put up in flood-prone areas in the town.
According to the DCE, many landlords had put up structures and buildings at unauthorised places such as watercourses and other areas earmarked for roads, thus making such areas inaccessible to vehicles such as fire engines during fire outbreaks.
Mr Flesher-Kwabi said such situations would lead to calamities, should disasters arise,as such it had become necessary to undertake the exercise to prevent loss of life. 
With regard to the granting of building permits, the DCE said that was the sole responsibility of a planning committee set up by the assembly and warned assembly members to desist from interferring in the granting of the permit.
He also called on officials of the Town and Country Planning Department to speed up processes of acquisition of building permits.
Three resource persons, made up of the Eastern Regional Director of Town and Country Planning, Mr Samuel Yaw Antwi, the Regional Lands Officer, Mr Maxwell Adu Nsafoah, and Mr Isaac B. Armah, the New Juaben Municipal Roads Engineer took the gathering through land acquisition, its usage, construction of town roads and other aspects of development.
The Apedwahene, Barima Obenakwa Kwarifa II who chaired the function, explained that Suhum lands were owned by his ancestors who gave it out to the people for use but had not been sold.