{"id":391775,"date":"2018-01-15T18:45:51","date_gmt":"2018-01-15T18:45:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=391775"},"modified":"2018-01-15T19:25:34","modified_gmt":"2018-01-15T19:25:34","slug":"ave-maria-resort-to-be-demolished-january-ending-gpha-boss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/01\/ave-maria-resort-to-be-demolished-january-ending-gpha-boss\/","title":{"rendered":"Ave Maria Resort to be demolished January ending – GPHA Boss"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Director-General of the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority, Paul Asare Ansah, says Ave Maria Resort in Tema will be pulled down by the end of January 2018 as part of the\u00a0$1.5 billion Tema Port Expansion Project.<\/p>\n
According to him, the owner of the Resort,\u00a0Theresa Ntim, is aware that the $10 million facility will be pulled down.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”2YYEPS242cQRPE1fKrPsvHqlSXgvwWEi”]”We have written to her that end of January into February, we will take down the facility. So now we have gotten to the level of talking about compensation,” he said.<\/p>\n
Mr. Asare Ansah explained to Citi News<\/strong> that “the location of Ave Maria Resort was to be occupied by the railway terminal under the expansion project.<\/p>\n “We sympathize and empathize with the owners of Ave Maria. We have been talking to them for the past couple of months, if not years. She did not understand why her facility must be taken out. We have impressed upon her. We have gone back and forth.\u201d<\/p>\n During the tussle that involved legal battles and accusations of intimidation, Mr. Asare Ansah suggested some inconsistency on the part of the Resort’s owners saying, “at certain points, she would agree that she would have to move out of the location\u2026 at a certain point, she would come back and say no.”<\/p>\n “We have made offers and counter-offers as to compensation and so forth. The owner took us to court to place injunctions and restrain us from demolishing the facility. The court ruled in our favour and she wouldn\u2019t understand,\u201d he recounted.<\/p>\n But “as at now, she [Theresa Ntim,] has come to appreciate the fact that the facility will go,”\u00a0Mr. Asare Ansah stated.<\/p>\n Demolishing the facility was the last option for the Authority, according to the GPHA Director-General, who said they tried to see if the project could be realigned to accommodate the Resort but \u201cthey did all the scenarios and they came out with a defined decision that it was not possible to accommodate Ave Maria.”<\/p>\n Alleged intimidation<\/strong><\/p>\n In October 2017,\u00a0staff of the Resort were reportedly accosted by some\u00a0security personnel of the GPHA.<\/p>\n There was some earth movement\u00a0by a\u00a0bulldozer which blocked the front gate of the Resort, trapping staff and guests<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n A Board Member\u00a0of\u00a0Ave Maria Beach Resort in Tema, has accused the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), of intimidating<\/a><\/strong> the resort for over two years.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Board Member of the Resort,\u00a0Charlotte Ntim, in a\u00a0Citi News<\/strong>\u00a0interview, also said the police offered little protection\u00a0to the Resort and its staff during a recent attack by security personnel of GPHA.<\/p>\n Theresa Ntim previously lamented that the tension between the Resort and the GPHA was indicative of a country that doesn\u2019t value heritage.<\/p>\n