Ghana Trade Fair Company explains why it demolished tenants’ properties

The Ghana Trade Fair Company Limited (GTFCL) has explained why it demolished properties of its tenants at the Trade Fair Centre in Accra last Sunday night, February 16, 2020.

The demolition, according to the GTFCL is to pave way for the redevelopment of the site and that the tenants were duly notified about the development.

Among the tenants at the trade fair centre whose properties were destroyed by a bulldozer under the supervision of armed security personnel was Universal Labels & Packaging Co. Ltd and Colour Planet, a printing company owned by Raymond Archer, a journalist.

According to Mr Archer, he had invested about US$10 million in equipment for the company and the demolition exercise affected the equipment.



“The GTFCL had informed all the tenants about the redevelopment project and gave them the mandatory 6-month notice on July 10, 2018, to vacate the site by 31st December of the same year [2018], the GTFCL explained in a press statement issued to explain the issue.

It said since 2017 the Ghana Trade Fair Company has been engaging key stakeholders to redevelop the site. A Masterplan has been approved by the Board and Cabinet, and a horizontal developer secured with PPA approval on 28th June 2019 to provide the critical infrastructure needed for the lease of the site to private developers to develop the various facilities earmarked in the Masterplan to support the Ghana Trade Fair Company’s Convention and Exhibition Facilities. What has been in the way of the redevelopment are a number of structures on site occupied by a number of businesses, whose agreements had long expired, it said.

Notice

it said prior to this, on September 24, 2017, the Company sent notices to all tenants to renew their tenancy agreements for another year. Reminders followed on November 1st 2017 to renew by November 10, 2017 for the last time before the redevelopment was to start in 2019.

“Since 31st December 2018, therefore, none of the business on-site had any valid tenancy agreement with the GTFCL.”

it said despite the expiration of the agreements, the company has been very cooperative with the businesses with the view to finding the least disruptive means of achieving the goal of redevelopment.

“When the Company commenced demolition of some redundant facilities in the first quarter of 2019, some of the businesses took the Company to court and further secured an injunction to restrain the Company from evicting them from the site.”

It said on Wednesday 12th February 2020 His Lordship Emmanuel Amo Yartey (J) of the High Court of Justice, Land Court 7, vacated the injunction order “for the Government to go ahead with the facelift of the Ghana Trade Fair site for the betterment of the nation as well as Plaintiffs…”

Following the vacation of the injunction order demolition of some structures took place on the night of Sunday the 16th of February 2020.

it said contrary to what is being speculated, the GTFCL was never served any notice of any further injunction granted by any Court.

“Had we been served we would surely have respected it as we did previously,” it added.

Raymond Archer

Some of the affected companies, Universal Labels & Packaging Co. Ltd and Colour Planet, owned by Raymond Archer, a journalist said they were surprised about the demolition exercise which also destroyed their machines.

Mr Archer in separate radio interviews claimed that his company had invested close to $10million in equipment at the site.

He explained the nature of the equipment was such that he needed time to assemble engineers to uninstall them.

And since different engineers from different countries installed them, he needed more time to do that

He said the demolition of the building with a bulldozer was done in a way such that it affected the printing machine and other goods in the building.

Source: Graphic.com.gh