ASHMA Pulls Down Building To Save Lives

The Works and Housing Department of the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) in the early hours of Friday demolished a storey building in the Naa Merley Electoral Area to save lives. The storey building, which contained four rooms on the ground floor, six rooms on the top floor and a detached bed and living room, was built over 40 years and had seen no maintenance, rendering it a death trap. At a media briefing, Mr Isaac Lamptey, Municipal Head, Works and Housing, said the assembly gave the property owner a one-year ultimatum to renovate the structure because it had become a threat to human life. Mr Lamptey said because of the inability of the owner to comply with the assembly�s order, it gave him a three-day ejection notice prior to the demolishing to enable occupants to vacate the premises. He said it cost the assembly GHC 7,500 to demolish the structure, indicating that the cost of the demolishing would be passed on to the property owner. Nii Ayiku Kabutey, Assemblyman for the electoral area, applauded the assembly for the bold decision taken to ensure human safety in the area. He said other weak structures in area would be pulled down if the owners failed to renovate them.