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Anti-corruption campaigner, Sidney Casely-Hayford has advised Ghanaians whose houses have been earmarked for demolition because they are situated on waterways to resist such attempts and consider legal action against the government.

According to him, the real culprits are the officials who issue the permits to the residents in spite of the  fact that they know the areas were waterways.

“If this government, through any means gets up and comes to demolish your home on the grounds that you have built your home in a waterway, don’t accept it, sue them. They have no right to break down you home because the people who are responsible for giving permits for you to build your home are sitting at the town and country planning  the district authorities and the municipalities and the metropolises. That is their job,” Casely-Hayford said on Citi FM‘s news analysis programme The Big Issue on Saturday. 

“If you are given a permit to build a property in a place where they know is on a waterway and they have managed to disingenuously maneuver  around so that the property is built and they come and tell you that you property should not have been built there, reveal who gave you that authority to build  and let that person be punished  and prosecuted for dong the wrong thing,” he advised.

Demolition of houses is not the solution

When President Mahama visited areas affected by Wednesday’s floods and the scene of the fire claimed over 90 lives said, drastic measures will be taken to ensure that such incidents do not recur.

According to him, government would adopt a tough stance on residents who have built on waterways, having previously had to compromise in dealing with them.


The Ga West Municipal Assembly demolished some structures deemed to have been built on waterways, including a washing bay at Mile 7 on Friday.

However, Casely-Hayford said that the President’s directive was unfair to the citizens and  a cruel way for government to attempt to correct its own errors.

“Government is saying they are going to go around to demolish houses on waterways, So is that going to be the solution to the problem? Demolishing people’s property and not compensating them for a problem that you created in the first place and one that you allowed to carry on?,” he queried.

‘We don’t know where the waterways are’

The anti-corruption campaigner complained of a lack of logistics at the AMA with prospective builders unable to immediately find out whether the site they have selected is suitable or not.

He said: “Is there a map that tells me that this a waterway? is there a signboard that says that this is a waterway, don’t build here?  How should I know as a citizen? Has the Town and Country planning ever put any notice up to say that these are the no-go areas, this is where you can’t build? Has it ever been done?”

“If you go to AMA today and you ask for a simple list of all the places where markets are located in this city, they’ll tell you to write a letter. What kind of idiocy is that? You can’t even go online, even if you don’t want to physically go there, and look at where you are or are not supposed to build.”