The Local Government and Rural Development Committee of Parliament has expressed significant concern regarding the ongoing proliferation of containers and other unauthorised structures throughout the East Legon area of Accra.
The Committee addressed this matter during a formal engagement with representatives of the Ayawaso West Municipal Assembly, who appeared before Parliament to provide accountability for municipal activities and respond to concerns pertaining to development and the enforcement of planning regulations.
The representatives informed the Committee that the Assembly had not granted permits for the containers and other temporary structures that have materialised at multiple locations within East Legon.
This disclosure intensified lawmakers’ apprehensions concerning the Assembly’s capacity to monitor and enforce regulations, particularly given that the area is recognised as one of the city’s most valuable residential and commercial zones.
Committee Chairperson Queenstar Maame Pokuah Sawyerr inquired as to why unauthorised structures persist in emerging despite the Assembly’s assertion that it had not authorised them.
She articulated concern that the escalating presence of containers and temporary structures could compromise appropriate physical planning and the systematic development of the area.
“Why do you allow containers springing up everywhere around such an expensive area? And temporary structures too. There are a lot of them there. Are you ready to do something about it because they are unauthorised structures and containers and all of that?”
The Committee Chairperson subsequently directed the Ayawaso West Municipal Assembly to formulate a detailed strategy to resolve the situation and eliminate the unauthorised structures from the area.
She emphasised the necessity for the Assembly to implement substantive measures to uphold planning and development regulations rather than permitting the structures to proliferate further.
