�Leave Sodom & Gomorrah Now�

Following the recent fire outbreak at Sodom and Gomorrah in Accra, which fire razed parts of the place, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA,) Dr. Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, has issued a stern warning to residents who are rebuilding their structures to stop or face the full rigors of the law. �The concrete building construction must stop. We can�t allow that to continue, but if persuasion fails, the laws of the land will be applied to those who go contrary to the order,� Dr. Vanderpuije stressed. According to the Mayor, he was very much concern about the rampant fire outbreaks in the metropolis especially Fadama popularly known as �Sodom and Gomorrah,� saying steps are being taken by the National Security and the city authorities to ensure that lives and properties are protected in the metropolis. Dr. Vanderpuije issued this warning when Assembly�s Technical Committee of Assembly visited to Sodom and Gomorrah According to him, his action was prompted by news items carried by GTV and ETV Ghana which showed the paste at which residents were putting up new their structures. �There will be a possible disaster should Fadama residents be allowed to continue construction, since most of the structures are being built on the ashes from previous fire disasters,� he said. According to the Mayor an evaluation conducted at the scene of the previous fire outbreak revealed that since the people built on saw dust, there was possible danger hence his warning to the people to desist from building concrete structures. However, in charting a way forward, the Mayor has invited the Fadama community leaders for a meeting today at 4 PM to craft a possible solution, insisting that the Assembly will not allow residents to go against the warning. On his part, the Deputy Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr. Isaac Nii Djanmah Vanderpuije, expressed worry over the increasing rate of fire outbreaks in some parts of the region and called on Fadama residents to exercise caution in their day to day activities and remain calm for the city authorities to come out with possible solutions to their problems. Responding to the concern raised by the Mayor and the regional minister, Chairman of the Fadama Community Development Association, Alhaji Abdulai Suleimana, thanked the City authorities for taking proactive actions to stop the ongoing construction. According to him, the community has about fifty (50) task force who will ensure that the order from the City authorities to stop residents from re-building their structures particularly, concrete structures, is adhered to.