March 15, 2013
The Northern Regional office of the Lands Commission has given retired soldiers and their families occupying the old Kaladan Barracks in Tamale up to June 15 this year to vacate the place.
This followed a meeting held at the premises of the commission last Wednesday at the behest of the Board Chairman of the Northern Regional Lands Commission, Alhaji Alhassan Ishmail, to find the best way of evicting the old soldiers and their families without creating much inconvenience and hardship for them.
The meeting was attended by the regional executive members of the Veterans Administration of Ghana (VAG), some widows of veterans and officials of the Northern Regional office of the Lands Commission.
The Daily Graphic earlier reported that more than 300 retired soldiers and their families currently occupying the old Kaladan Barracks in Tamale had been given eviction orders by the Northern Regional office of the Lands Commission.
According to the report, an eviction dated January 29, 2013 and signed by the Northern Regional Lands Commission officer, Mr Justice Morgan, stated that “the Lands Commission, in collaboration with the Department of Town and Country Planning, the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, relevant state and traditional institutions, is implementing a comprehensive redevelopment scheme on the old Kaladan Barracks.”
The report stated further that occupants of the old Kaladan Barracks and all people occupying areas around the Kaladan Park were ordered “to vacate the land within 30 days from February 1, 2013.”
At the meeting in which the Daily Graphic was allowed to participate, Alhaji Ishmail said the Northern Regional office of the Lands Commission had no intention of evicting the veterans and their families just for the sake of it.
He said there was the need for the plan of Tamale to be redesigned in order to meet the ever growing population of the city.
He said earlier meetings involving the military high command and executive members of VAG came to a conclusion that people staying at the old Kaladan Barracks and its environs should be evicted, and the area demolished to pave way for the redevelopment exercise and expressed surprise at the claim of the veterans that they had not been apprised earlier about their eviction.
The Tamale District Chairman of VAG, Major M.J.G Alhassan (retd), blamed the military high command for failing to inform the veterans about the planned eviction earlier.
The veterans agreed to relocate from the old barracks by the agreed date and Alhaji Ishmail urged them to contact the Lands Commission and other agencies if they needed any assistance to enable them to relocate.
Source: Ghana Web
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