The Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Operations, Stan Dogbe, has emphasised that the pulling down of structures along the La beachfront in Accra had nothing to do with government’s anti-flood campaign.
The clarification comes after the La Pleasure Beach and the Polo Beach Club, located close to the Labadi Beach Hotel, were demolished in an exercise to clear the shoreline.
The operation was supervised by soldiers from the 48 Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) with support from the Ghana Police Service, who ordered traders and business operators in the enclave to leave.
But in a Facebook post on Friday, October 2, Mr. Dogbe said the exercise should not be linked to the flood mitigation task force.
“Let’s not get it twisted. Friday’s action along a section of the beachfront was not a Flood Mitigation Action by the government task force,” he stated.
He explained that the work of the task force was focused on areas such as the Kpeshie Lagoon, East Legon Boundary Road, Oyarifa and behind Mayfair Estates, and not the La Beach enclave.
According to him, the demolition was undertaken under the direction of National Security following a request from the management of Labadi Beach Hotel.
“These are structures, some permanently built (Polo Beach Club and others) on the beach in front of the hotel, and which, according to the business, are adversely affecting the safety, tranquility and reputation of the Hotel, diminishing the visitor experience and undermining the orderly management of one of Ghana’s most important tourism destinations,” he said.
He noted that the hotel will in due course give more details for the move to reclaim its frontage.
Mr. Dogbe also pointed to sanitation and security concerns, saying the uncontrolled commercial activities along the beach were creating problems.
“We must all be concerned about the serious sanitation issues that these unauthorised and unregulated commercial operations cause, in addition to the security risks,” he said.
He said he had watched drone footage and videos of the stretch before raising the question of whether the hotel was justified in taking back its beachfront.
“Is the Labadi Beach Hotel not right in reclaiming its beach front (I am not talking about the La Pleasure Beach, please),” he quizzed.
