The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Ashaiman, Freeman Tsekpo, has rejected claims that the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly is unlawfully evicting members of the Peaceful Settlement Association, insisting the Assembly is only conducting a decongestion exercise.

This comes after more than 100 traders from the Association staged a protest, accusing the Assembly of attempting to seize land they say they legally own despite a court injunction. The traders further alleged that the Assembly planned to reallocate the land to a private developer, stressing that they hold valid ownership documents.

Speaking on the Channel One Newsroom on Monday, August 18, Mr. Tsekpo clarified that the Assembly’s actions had been misconstrued.

“The assembly is undertaking a decongestion exercise. The assembly is not in any way doing a demolition on a site that is under litigation in court. I want to bring a distinction between a decongestion exercise and a demolition of a site which is in court,” he explained.

According to him, decongestion exercises are strictly aimed at clearing roads, pavements, medians, and other public reservations that have been illegally occupied by traders. He stressed that the exercise is to ensure free movement and public safety, not to confiscate private land.

“We are undertaking a decongestion exercise on the roads because we have traders who were selling in the road, in the median, on the pavement and traders who have put up structures on road reservation that have made our community clumsy,” the MCE said.

Mr. Tsekpo also noted that some members of the Peaceful Settlement Association had encroached on road reservations by placing containers and displaying their wares dangerously close to the pavement.

“Peaceful settlers have an adjoining land which shares a boundary with the road. They have put containers on the reservation, which is very close to the pavement. They display their wares on the pavement. They are in the curve. So when they display their ware, people have to literally walk on the streets, which causes an accident.

“Thankfully, the road is completely motorable, and resistance will cause a threat to public safety. That is why we are undertaking this decongestion exercise. It has nothing to do with the demolition of their properties in their legally acquired space,” he added.