MP Fights Military Cum Police Over Demolition Exercise

Tema West Member of Parliament, Irene Naa Torshie Addo, is on a collision course with the military and police personnel for supervising a demolition exercise by the Tema Development Corporation which has left hundreds of residents homeless. The angry MP said she will petition the Inspector General of Police to "take his troops from the TDC zone." She has also demanded that the armed soldiers be kept in the barracks because Tema "is not at war". Irene Naa Torshie Addo told Joy News' Dzifa Bampoh the presence of the security personnel at the TDC is "causing chaos" in her constituency. Two people were said to have collapsed whilst hundreds of others wailed and mourned the destruction of their houses by earth moving machines. Heavily armed police and military personnel supervised the demolition exercise. The site on which the houses were destroyed has been subject of a court case with different factions claiming ownership of the land. The demolition exercise which started on Tuesday continued on Wednesday with hundreds of houses flattened under the watchful eyes of the police and military. One of the security officers shot in the air and into a parked car in a desperate attempt to stop a MultiTV camera man from taking shots of the demolition exercise, Joy News' Joseph Opoku Gakpo reported. Speaking to Joy News, the MP for the area, Irene Naa Torshie Addo, said she cannot sleep when hundreds of her residents have been rendered homeless. She said they will take a class action against the TDC. According to the MP, the TDC took the decision to demolish the houses without informing all stakeholders, adding, the TDC cannot arrogate powers onto themselves. She said there should have been enough consultation with all stakeholders before a decision was taken.