Laboma Beach: REGSEC issues 21-day ultimatum to encroachers

The Greater Accra Regional Security Council (REGSEC) has given several facilities at Laboma Beach 21 days to vacate the Kpeshie Lagoon buffer zone.

The affected businesses include nightclubs, restaurants, beach resorts and other hospitality facilities operating within the La Dadekotopon Municipal Assembly.

The directive was issued by the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Ocloo, who led a REGSEC team to the area to serve notices on the operators.

Facilities named in the exercise include Pink Flamingo, ULA Beach Club, Trophy, Bliss Escape, Amsterdam Kitchen, Si Beach Resort and Alora Beach Resort.

According to the Regional Minister, the structures have been developed within areas designated as buffer zones for the Kpeshie Lagoon.

She said the encroachment had reduced the space available for water to accumulate and flow naturally, contributing to flooding in the area during periods of heavy rainfall.

Mrs Ocloo said some of the developers had been warned to stop their projects while construction was still at an early stage.

She said those warnings were ignored, with some developers continuing to put up structures despite the concerns raised by authorities.

“Some of the buildings here, when they were at their early stages, we asked the owners not to continue, but they still went ahead.

“People sometimes just push us and call you all kinds of names.

At the end of the day, I am not even sure the encroachers even have permits,” she said.

The 21-day notice requires the owners and occupants of the affected properties to remove the structures themselves.

Mrs Ocloo warned that REGSEC would carry out the demolition if the occupants failed to comply within the specified period.

She said the cost of the exercise would subsequently be recovered from the owners of the affected structures.

The minister also cautioned individuals who might attempt to obstruct the enforcement exercise, saying resistance could result in arrest.

She explained that previous attempts by officials of the local assembly to enforce planning and environmental regulations had been difficult because of resistance from some occupants.

“You leave in the morning, and at night you come and they have raised the structures, and people here are very armed, and sometimes the assembly is handicapped, so they are unable to do much,” she said.

The latest operation involves the 48 Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces and a flood task force, with REGSEC providing support for the exercise.

Authorities are expected to conduct further assessments to establish the exact extent of the encroachment and determine which structures fall within the protected buffer area.

The buffer zone is intended to provide space for water to collect and gradually move towards the sea, particularly during the rainy season.

The Ghana Hydrological Authority is also expected to examine the Kpeshie Lagoon and its surrounding buffer areas.

The assessment will help authorities determine how much of the lagoon’s natural water-retention area has been occupied by development.

The Regional Minister said protecting the wetlands was necessary to reduce the impact of flooding on communities around the lagoon.

“We cannot sit aloof to lose the wetlands,” she said.

The exercise forms part of efforts by the authorities to restore waterways and water-retention areas in Greater Accra, where flooding has repeatedly affected communities during periods of heavy rainfall.

The Political Coordinator for the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council, Anthony Nukpenu, said government would also create additional space around the water-retention area.

He said work would be undertaken along a heavily silted section of the waterway, while occupants whose structures are directly located within the watercourse had been informed to begin removing their properties.

According to Mr Nukpenu, the removals are necessary before dredging work begins.

He added that boulders obstructing the waterway would also be cleared to improve the movement of water.

Mr Nukpenu linked part of the flooding recorded in June to an obstruction that prevented water from passing freely through the rear section of a bridge in the area.

He said restoring the waterway would improve drainage and reduce the likelihood of water becoming trapped during heavy rainfall.

The official also rejected claims that the area had been formally converted into a residential or recreational zone.

He said the Lands Commission had not rezoned the land for such purposes and insisted that the area remained part of the lagoon.

The authorities are expected to continue assessing the site before the 21-day deadline expires, after which enforcement action could be taken against operators who fail to remove structures identified as being within the buffer zone.