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Minister for Works and Housing, Hon. Samuel Atta-Akyea has revealed that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in his quest to upgrade the slums in Nima and Maamobi areas will build world-class enclave for the affected residents in the area earmarked.

According to him, President Akufo-Addo intends to transform appropriately 1,039 acres of prime land which Nima and Maamobi occupy into ultra-modern edifices close to the Jubilee House, the seat of Government without dislodging the people who currently dwell in Nima and Maamobi as speculative by some people.

Addressing the media in the 'Meet-The-Press' series at the Ministry of Information’s conference room, the Abuakwa South lawmaker hinted that those acres of land of Nima and Maamobi will be released to developers in exchange for more befitting structures for the affected residents on the same Nima and Maamobi lands.

He added that the Nima and Maamobi transformation will be done in collaboration with the Ministries of Lands and Natural Resources and Inner City and Zongo Development, to make the aforesaid area a world-class residential enclave.

“I don’t think President Akufo-Addo has made his mind to dislodge anybody from Nima and Maamobi but rather he will transform approximately 1,039 acres of prime land which Nima and Maamobi occupy into a world-class residential enclave close to Jubilee House, the seat of government without dislodging the people who currently dwell in Nima and Maamobi,” he hinted.

He stressed that dislodging residents of Nima and Maamobi slums will mean the plan of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to upgrade slums in the country has been defeated.

“It is propaganda for anybody to say that the people of Nima and Maamobi will be dislodged. The President is rather going to honour them by providing more befitting places of abode for them and they will appreciate God for it when it is done; that is the aim of this government and it will be done in the same Nima and Maamobi lands but with different structures,” he explained.

The growing incidence of slum development in Ghana has been the result of rural-urban migration, limited supply of land, and regulatory frameworks that are, at best, indifferent and hostile to the needs of the poor.

Even though Nima and Maamobi routinely suffer from inadequate provisions of basic facilities such as, housing, water, electricity, and drainage systems, the communities continue to grow.

The President’s commitment to slum upgrading of Nima and Maamobi was stated forcefully in his message of the State of the Nation eloquently delivered in Parliament on the 20th February, 2019.