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Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Ga West Assembly, Clement Wilkinson, has suggested to authorities at the Ministry of Roads and Highways and the Ghana Highway Authority to consider constructing roads from the ends of their demarcations.
According to Mr. Wilkinson, that approach, if adopted, will do away with challenges associated with squatters.
He said: “When the Ghana Highways Authority wants to construct, they should first start at the edges of the land, leaving the middle for expansion works. That way when you want to expand, you have no problem with no one because nobody will want to construct in the middle of roads.
“But when you leave the edges of 150 metres which is about 300 feets, galamsey for people is the land, so however it is, they will sell the land. When they build on those lands and the highways authority comes to demolish them, they tend to blame some government official who is only doing his work.”
He made the statement while speaking to Kofi Adoma Nwanwani on Angel FM’s Anɔpa Bɔfoɔ morning show during an outside broadcast from Pokuase Interchange.
The MCE also noted that the stretches of lands left on both sides of roads for expansion purposes are usually given temporarily to businesses for use, but later become issues of litigation which stall construction projects.
“The Ministry of Roads and Highways own the lands so if you want to do any business on the land like those constructing filling stations by the road sides, you need to acquire the right of entry permit from the Ministry which is a temporary permit.
“Some people have used the land without the right of entry permit. Those who have acquired the permits have also later laid claim to the lands, and business owners have often sued us for demolishing their structures, even though we have dealt with them.” he said.
