Evicted squatters find haven at Achimota School

Some squatters who were evicted from Sodom and Gomorrah, a slum in Accra, and other areas in the metropolis by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) have found a safe haven near the Achimota School.

They have now made a portion of the school’s land — around the non-staff and staff bungalows — their place of abode and have constructed wooden structures for the purpose.

The school is already facing a serious problem of encroachment in the form of prayer camps, from other squatters and real estate developers.

When the Daily Graphic visited the Achimota School last Friday, it observed that notices asking the new encroachers to vacate the area had been posted on their structures.

Ironically, the notice gave them a deadline of September 30, 2015.

 Staff, students worried

A teacher at the Achimota Senior High School, Mr Samuel Asamoah, told the Daily Graphic that the Headmistress of the school was out of town and so the next line of action would be decided when she returned.

Mr Asamoah, who is also a resident of the community where the temporary structures are springing up, said the situation was a worry to the staff and the students.

He said the staff and their households sometimes had to struggle with the squatters over amenities like public standpipes.

He said the squatters also made the environment dirty.

 Old student

Commenting on the issue, the Executive Secretary of the Achimota  Old Students’ Association, Madam Eunice Quarcoopome, said the situation posed a security threat to the students and staff of the school.

She said there was a new dormitory among other facilities in the area where the squatters had put up their structures, adding that the body of a female adult was found on the school’s land recently and that had alarmed the staff and students.

Madam Quarcoopome called on the city authorities to do something about the situation now before it got out of hand.