Former National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Freddie Blay, has accused President John Dramani Mahama of personally ordering the demolition of his son’s Polo Beach Club at the La Beach enclave in Accra, despite an ongoing court dispute over the property.
Mr Blay alleged that the President authorised the demolition while the ownership dispute involving the beachfront property was still pending before the court.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue on Saturday, October 3, on the sidelines of the NPP’s National Delegates Congress in Kumasi, Mr Blay described the development as one of his major grievances against the government.
“I feel sorry. It is one of the complaints that I think people should hear against the NDC government and against President John Mahama, that he himself ordered it. I know,” he alleged.
Mr Blay argued that the demolition should not have taken place while the substantive dispute over the property remained unresolved by the court.
“The court is yet to determine it. Then you complain to the President and the President orders that they should go and break it. He [Mahama] has no respect for law,” he alleged.
According to the former NPP Chairman, the dispute involving his son’s business and the Labadi Beach Hotel has been before the court for about two to three years without a final determination.
He rejected claims that the Polo Beach Club was unlawfully occupying land belonging to the hotel, insisting that his son acquired the land through a lease from the La Stool.
“My son has acquired land from the La Stool and did business on the land that belongs to the La Stool originally. They’ve leased it out. And we are working on it,” he said.
Mr Blay also questioned the involvement of National Security in the demolition while the matter remained before the court, arguing that any action against the property should have been backed by a court order.
“Is that law? Is that what is done in the country? Unless the court gives the order,” he said.
The Polo Beach Club was demolished on Friday, October 2, as part of a security-backed operation targeting structures along sections of the La beachfront.
The exercise involved personnel from the 48 Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces, supported by the Ghana Police Service.
Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Operations, Stan Dogbe, has clarified that the demolition was separate from the government’s ongoing flood-mitigation operations.
According to Mr Dogbe, the exercise was undertaken under National Security supervision following a request from the Labadi Beach Hotel over structures and commercial activities along the beachfront.
The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), which has investments in the Labadi Beach Hotel and La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, has also defended the intervention.
SSNIT said it sought National Security assistance over what it described as persistent unlawful occupation, encroachment and unauthorised commercial activities along the beachfront.
The Trust cited concerns about the security of hotel guests and workers, unauthorised access, sanitation, environmental degradation and the potential impact of the activities on its hospitality investments.
SSNIT said the affected beachfront would be cleaned and restored while remaining accessible to the public.
Mr Blay’s allegation that President Mahama personally ordered the demolition has not been independently established in the publicly available accounts of the operation.
The demolition has generated controversy, with affected operators and some political figures questioning the basis and manner of the exercise.
The Member of Parliament for La Dadekotopon, Rita Naa Odoley Sowah, has also raised concerns over the operation and called for clarity on the circumstances surrounding the demolition.
The dispute is expected to intensify scrutiny of the competing claims over the beachfront property and the legal basis for the demolition.
