The forum, which aims to provide a platform for residents to voice their concerns about the state of roads, particularly the issue of bad roads in the area, was scheduled to take place today.

Early this morning, as residents began to gather at the designated venue for the People’s Forum, they were met with a heavy police presence and warnings not to proceed any further.

Adom FM reporters on the ground said the police were instructed not to allow anyone to enter the venue, effectively blocking the residents from expressing their grievances.

The decision to deploy the police has caused an uproar among the residents, who feel their democratic rights to freedom of speech and assembly have been violated.

Many residents had gathered to address the long-standing issue of bad roads in the area and were eager to engage in constructive dialogue with local authorities.

One resident, who preferred to remain anonymous, expressed their frustration, saying, “We have been living with terrible roads for years, and this was finally an opportunity to have our voices heard. It is disappointing and disheartening that the MCE would resort to such measures to silence us.”

The People’s Forum, organized by Adom FM and Adom TV, had been widely publicized and had garnered significant attention from the local community.

The aim of the forum was to facilitate an open discussion between residents and local government officials, including the MCE, to find solutions to the persistent road issues.

The residents argue that the deployment of police to suppress citizen participation is undemocratic and infringes upon the rights of the residents.

As the controversy surrounding the deployment of police to prevent community members from participating in the People’s Forum intensifies, the community waits anxiously for a solution to the bad roads that have plagued their daily lives.

The Adom FM and TV People’s Forum has become the biggest platform that is enabling communities to make their issues known.

The People’s Forum comes at no cost to communities hence many communities are leveraging this great opportunity in line with the stations’ promise of being the ‘voice of the voiceless’.

Below is a video of the deployment:

Officials said the area was notorious for child prostitution and drug peddling, among other nefarious activities.

The exercise followed what the assembly said were the health hazards the squatters and residents of the area were exposed to during a recent fire outbreak in the slum, which destroyed some of the makeshift homes.

Located at the Kotobabi Junction, some 30 metres from the Ecobank Junction, the slum had for years been seen as a hub of the operations of alleged drug peddlers and syndicates of prostitution gangs and armed robbery.

The vibrancy of the slum saw rapid development of a business enclave that hosted night clubs, food joints, drinking bars, clothing and hairdressing salons, pharmacies, among others, over the last decade which had impacted the regular vehicular traffic along the stretch.

Attempts by the Tema Metropolitan Assembly, which previously had jurisdiction over the area, and later the TWMA, were halted over reasons said to be humanitarian.

Victims

Some victims who spoke to the Daily Graphic lamented the manner the exercise was conducted last Thursday, saying they had no prior notice from the assembly.

A food vendor, Gloria Narteki, said she had barely started work about 9:40 a.m. when a heavy police deployment accompanied by bulldozers razed the area, pulling down every structure in sight, including her food joint.

“We don’t know the rationale behind the demolition apart from rumours we heard over the weeks that a popular church located along the stretch and an iron rod dealership company, which also has an apartment building on the stretch, had purchased the land,” Ms Narteki said.

She said she was saddened by the development because some of the residents were making a genuine living there and were not into any form of nefarious activity.

Some others affected by the demolition exercise were seen scavenging for their belongings from the debris.

Debunk allegations

The Chief Executive of the assembly, Ms Anna Adukwei Addo, told the Daily Graphic that the assembly took advantage of the fire outbreak incident to clear the area since it has had difficulties doing so in the past.

She debunked suggestions that the assembly failed to give ample notice to the squatters prior to the exercise.

She said the assembly would want to engage the Nungua Traditional Council, the custodians of the land, so they could find an alternative use for the land.

“My understanding is that it was earmarked for a market but with an already existing market at Batsoona, we will have to analyse and see what alternative arrangements could be done apart from a market,” Ms Addo said.

She said the assembly was seeking to arrange for vocational training for many of the young girls who were within the settlement and had no skill set and were thus being forced into alleged nefarious activities.

“We are trying to identify them through a registration process so we can begin some form of counselling for them while we arrange the skills training programme for them to enable them to earn incomes on their own,” Ms Addo said.