Amnesty International has condemned a demolition exercise in one of the biggest slums in Ghana's capital in which thousands of people have been left homeless during lockdown.
The demolition was carried out by the government at Old Fadama, popularly known as Sodom and Gomorrah, to pave way for the dredging of a nearby lagoon.
The slum is home to the largest electronic waste dumpsite in Ghana where millions of discarded electronic gadgets are dismantled each year causing severe pollution of the nearby Korle Lagoon.
Amnesty International has described the demolition exercise as "untimely and insensitive".
They have urged the government to respect international human rights as they take measures to deal with the spread of the virus.
They are also demanding an immediate stop to further demolition of parts of the slum and have called for alternative homes for those affected.
The government has said that the exercise was done with the consent of the community leaders.
Ghana's borders remain shut in an attempt to limit the spread of coronavirus. It is in the final stages of a one-week extended partial lockdown.
Ghana has recorded 641 cases of the virus and eight deaths.
Source: BBC
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Most of these people are the kayayes, and when the former president gave them money to go back to thire home town we all heard what the NPP and thire flag bearer said . So now I asked , where is the house they promised to build for them ? Liarrrs
May I suggest to Amnesty International to collaborate with Habitat For Humanity so they're able to provide some shelter for the victims. The numerous slums in Ghana make our towns and cities look like huge ghettos
While the timing might not have been appropriate, when has Amnesty ever consider using their fat cheques to support these people. Talk and advocacy are cheap. Amnesty only sees the bad of government but not of the people. Shouldn’t they have also told the slum dwellers to relocate when they started massing up
If they do not dredge the Lagoon too and the rains come and there is flooding these same people will come and complain and lambast the government.