Refugee board buys time for Buduburam residents, puts demolition on hold
The cries and agitations that welcomed the announcement of a planned demolition exercise to be embarked on at Liberia Camp at Buduburam in the Gomoa East District of the Central Region have caused the Ghana Refugee Board and District Assembly to put its intended action on hold.
According to the board’s Executive Secretary Mr Tetteh Padi, residents there have been given some time to make alternative arrangements for shelter as the government is sensitive to the plight of the people.
The intended demolition exercise was initially scheduled to happen on September 30 but was met with numerous appeals from residents of the camp mostly foreign nationals and some Ghanaians.
As it stands now for the 400 persons classified as refugees in the camp, Mr Padi revealed that the Ghana Refugee Board has already found alternative shelter for them and they will be moved away from the place.
He also assured that for now the rest of the population have some time to prepare and pack out of that area.
Meanwhile, chairman of the Liberian Community at Buduburam, Denis Graham has disputed the 400 figure citing that there were 11,000 Liberians in the camp in 2012, of which 4,600 opted to be integrated into the Ghanaian society.
The camp was opened by the UNHCR in 1990 when it became home to Liberian refugees fleeing their country’s civil war.
Currently, it now hosts other foreign nationals from Nigeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast, and some Ghanaians.
But Chiefs and indigenes of Gomoa Fetteh who are custodians of Gomoa Buduburam have pushed for the demolition over claims that the camp is a den of criminals.
The district assembly has however been given the go-ahead to demolish parts of the camp.
By: Stella Annan | myactiveonline.com Twitter @activetvgh
