The PPP wants the President to disclose how much he paid to the evicted persons as compensation as well as declare his assets to the public.

[contextly_sidebar id=”8AXLXZfptL4cAzJaISuuozIJUjlsBI3k”]Speaking a day after the eviction deadline had elapsed, the Director of Operations for the party, Nana Ofori Owusu, said the party was “consulting with lawyers to be able to take this case up.”

“We think that this is a clear case that we can test our constitution and the laws of the land. We are saying that public servants must declare their assets,” he stated on Eyewitness News.

Mr. Owusu argued that the President should have just allowed the state to cater for the compensation.

“When the state declares a place a security zone, it is the responsibility of the state to engage the people and relocate them. President Nana Akufo-Addo paying money out of his pocket is a sheer show of opulence.”

“If the state has declared the place a red zone, why is it that the President must pay out of his pocket? It is irrational. We cant understand this. How is it possible,” Mr. Owusu remarked.

Why Nana Addo paid the compensation

A statement from the president last week explained that the compensation packages were provided from the President’s own pocket because he had taken the view that the national purse should not be burdened.

The statement also said extensive consultations were undertaken between the Office of the President, National Security, and the traders and artisans, before the eviction.

This was in response to concerns that not enough notice was given before the eviction. The compensations were between Ghc3,000 to Ghc10,000, but the total amount paid is unknown.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com.Ghana

The post Nana Addo paying evictees from his own pocket wrong – PPP appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Issues concerning the President’s abode has come up following National Security’s moves to evict some traders and individuals who live and work just opposite the President’s private Nima residence.

[contextly_sidebar id=”PnM1kORQh3AswXdrXal2Xv1upaAEiXsP”]For example, the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), questioned why the President has not moved into the Flagstaff House only to be inconveniencing poor and vulnerable persons in the name of national security.

Responding to these concerns on Eyewitness News, Mr. Acheampong stressed that the President lived in both the Flagstaff House and his Nima residence, when the need arises.

“I have told you since we started this interview that the President lives and works in the Flagstaff House. That is not the only place that the President sleeps or stays. When the President goes to Kumasi, he has a place to stay. When he is in Accra, apart from the Flagstaff House, there is Peduase which is in the Eastern Region but close to Accra he works from and sleeps there.”

The Minister, however stated that the fact the President lived at Flagstaff House did not mean his private residence did not require National Security protocols.

“The fact is that, whether President Akufo-Addo lives at the Nima residence or lives at the Flagstaff House, that is his private residence. He so often visits the place to have his private business and private family engagements in this house… We know that he goes there a minimum of two or three times a week. It is the responsibility of the state to declare the area a security zone and protect it 24/7,” the Minister explained.

Beyond the President’s safety, Mr. Acheampong reminded that “his close family are high-value targets that we must protect and some of them live in that [Nima] residence.”

On Friday, March 9, National Security gave the residents and traders up to Thursday [March 15] to pack out of the area.

The affected persons were said to be receiving compensation of GHc 3,000 to GHc 10,000, and though some of the affected persons have begun moving, others who spoke to Citi News complained the compensation amounts were not enough for them to move.

Traders will still go Thursday

Mr. Acheampong said the government will continue to engage the traders, but was adamant that they will be cleared on Thursday regardless of the outcome.

“Those who are dissatisfied, we will engage them and see and reach an agreement with them. Definitely, they have to go. That one is not in question. The issue, the contention is the settlement we must give them.”

“A few of them are saying they want a top up. Those are discussions we can have, and we are going to begin those discussions today [Tuesday]. But I am saying that in the unlikely event that we are unable to reach an agreement before the 15^th, their vacating the place on the 15^th is not subject to negotiations. We can continue the negotiations afterwards.”

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Nana Addo stays at both Flagstaff House and Nima – Bryan Acheampong appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Mr. Mohammed, who said he only heard about the matter in the news, said the matter has not been handled properly.

[contextly_sidebar id=”TO7LUNORaOIROO2SmBFcYLVY0JuKwPs2″]“I just heard it on Friday evening that they have been given a deadline to move and they had been compensated. As the Assemblyman of the area, I was not happy at all, and I said I will check up on the area because that is my area,” he remarked to Citi News,

The Assemblyman plans to meet with the sub-metro and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly today [Monday].

“I said to myself that by Monday, I have to go and check up at the AMA and I will definitely go and meet my people around that area to discuss these issues with them because they have to be given enough time [to move].”

“I will discuss it with the Sub-Metro first and ask them how the procedure is going and all, and if we need some time, we don’t need to force them. We have to talk to… and even find a suitable place for them. Some of them are sleeping there, that is where they live.”

Possible relocation in Nima

There is the possibility the affected persons could be relocated within the assembly, Mr. Mohammed added.

“I can spot a place in the community whereby if I discuss with the [Accra] Mayor, I think we can get a place for them… it will depend on how the conversation [with the AMA] goes.”

He said his attempted intervention “is to make sure that they are getting enough that can support them to go and get a place to live.”

“If you have given somebody GHc3,000 and the person has five kids and he is living there, how can he support himself with that money… some people invested around that area. You look at the investment and compensate them.”

But the government has explained that least two months notice was given to the traders and residents to vacate the area.

A statement from the government says that “extensive consultations were undertaken between the Office of the President, National Security, and the traders and artisans, before the implementation of this decision.”

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Assemblyman upset over eviction of traders near President’s home appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.