Tema is becoming a slum area – MCE

The Metropolitan Chief Executive for Tema and New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Tema East, Yohane Nii Aramh Ashitey, has voiced concerns over the diminishing original value of the Tema metropolis attributed to overpopulation.

Mr Ashitey highlighted the metropolis, once celebrated for its industrialization under former President Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, experiencing deterioration over time.

During an interview on Face to Face on Citi TV with Umaru Sanda Amadu, he acknowledged the transformation of specific areas in Tema into slums due to settlers.

He specifically pointed out Sites 2 and 20, occupied by residents who failed to relocate after a project completion, and noted that Communities 4, 7, 8, and 19 were initially well-planned.

“Because of the industries and the harbour, the indigenes who were originally living there had to relocate, the plan in those areas is not the plan that was used for other communities. Most of the people who live around those areas are fisher folks and farmers. The more the population keep increasing, you will have slum nature generating, because the land is still small, and it is not big.

“That is why in Community 1, those who set up the factories and industries, they set up some small village within Community 1. Site 2, site 20 and all those ones, but after the whole project was over, they didn’t move. I think that when they came together, they brought in temporary structures and with time, it became more like a slum.

“Parts of Tema East look more like an afterthought because the indigenes had to be resettled. That area was not planned properly.”

Mr Ashitey explained that industrial and harbor developments forced indigenous people to move, resulting in unplanned settlements and the emergence of slums due to limited available land.

Addressing the issue in Community 1, where factories and industries were established, he mentioned the creation of small villages within the community that eventually turned into slums.

Due to the population increase and limited land, slum-like conditions emerged, especially in areas with fishing and farming communities.

Mr Ashitey revealed ongoing plans to redevelop Tema New Town, incorporating high-rise buildings to accommodate a larger population. The redevelopment project aims to gradually transform the outlook of Tema Community 1 and Tema Manhean through phased development.