Squatters of zone E of the Budumburam camp have been left to their fate to find their next place of stay after the Chiefs of Gomoa Buduburam in the Central region issued a three-day ultimatum for them to vacate the area for market women who sell along the main road of Budumburam or face forced eviction.
Addressing the press on February 23, 2024, the Omankrado of Gomoa Fetteh, Nana Kwesi Quansah, stated that the move is aimed at expediting the construction works currently ongoing on the main Kasoa Cape Coast highway.
“We are about to demolish the camp. Hence, residents there have three days to move. This is among us and we are doing this for our women who are currently in distress.
The camp is housing bad people.So we are demolishing it to construct markets, senior high schools (SHS), and police stations, among others, for the good people of Gomoa land so that we shall be free from the bad things the camp is engaging in now,” the chief stated.
He further went on to charge the government, their MPs and their DCEs to stay away from the intended move, as they intend not to politicise this move.
According to him, they have all failed to deliver on their mandate; hence, the chiefs have taken it upon themselves to help their women.
“We ask the government , our Member of Parliament (MP), the District Chief Executive (DCE), and the Vice President, who is currently the NPP’s flagbearer, to stay out of this; we aren’t doing any politics here. The DCE, because he wanted our votes, wasn’t really forthcoming last time so this time around, we are asking him to stay in his lane,” the chief added.
The market women deserve t o be given the land for their activities instead of the robbers and ‘bad people’ occupying the camp and causing distress in the town, according to Nana Kwesi Quansah
He said, “Our market women are equally human; they also deserve to be there. It’s better they stay there than the bad guys the camp is currently housing.”
The Buduburam camp, created in 1990 by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), served as a sanctuary for Liberian refugees escaping the civil war in their homeland.
Its establishment aimed to provide shelter and support to those displaced by conflict.
Following its inception, Buduburam functioned as a refuge for over two decades. However, in 2012, the UNHCR concluded its assistance and urged the refugees to pursue one of two options: either repatriate to Liberia or integrate into Ghanaian society.
Consequently, the camp was officially closed, marking the end of its role as a temporary haven for displaced individuals fleeing the horrors of war.