Buduburam Camp Residents Besiege Police Station To Protest Impending Demolition

Some angry residents of the Buduburam camp all clad in red and black attire besieged the Gomoa Buduburam police station on the Tuesday, September 28, 2021, to protest a planned demolition exercise scheduled for the Thursday, September 30, 2021. The residents lamented that hundreds of residents will also be displaced if the

upcoming demolition of the 141 acre land is carried out. The Chiefs and residents of Gomoa Fetteh also in the Gomoa East District of the Central Region, who are the custodians of the Gomoa Buduburam had called on the government to consider demolishing the enclave to reduce crime. There have been several calls by various

traditional leaders for the enclave to be demolished because it is believed to be contributing to the high crime rate within Kasoa and environs. Some residents however denied the perception too that the Buduburam camp harbours criminals and urged the government to reconsider its decision. Things are difficult these days,

so it will be unfortunate for us to be evicted from this place. Not everyone here is a sex worker. I stay here too with my husband. We are pleading with the president to allow us stay here because we do not have anywhere to go, a resident complained. We have also written several letters to the Ministry of Interior and no one has also

responded. There is nothing we can do again about this demolition, another also said. The Buduburam enclave, which used to host mainly Liberians who sought asylum in Ghana during the unrest in that country, is also now hosting other foreign nationals from Nigeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast, and some Ghanaians. It became the home

of Liberian refugees after it was opened by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 1990. It was initially home to some 12,000 refugees. It also houses refugees from Sierra Leone who fled their country’s civil war between 1991 and 2002. The District Chief Executive for Gomoa East, Solomon Darko Quarm,

in the July 2021 also said the government had given the Assembly green light to demolish parts of Budumburam camp, specifically the portion which harbours a lot of suspected criminals. According to the DCE, processes are far advanced for commencement of the exercise. The Chiefs and people of Gomoa Fetteh led by Nana Abor Attah also gave the government an ultimatum to

demolish sections of the Gomoa Budumburam camp, and we have engaged all stakeholders on this directive. And we are hoping that in due time the place will also be demolished to rid the place of criminals. Government is in agreement with all the chiefs and people of Gomoa Fetteh, and we will soon carry out exercise for Gomoa Buduburam to become a modern city in the whole of Ghana, Mr. Solomon Darko said.