Elders of Asokore-Koforidua in the Eastern region have petitioned various government authorities, particularly, the Ministry of Roads and Highways, the New Juaben Municipal Assembly, the Ghana National Fire Service and others, to as a matter of urgency, investigate how permit was granted to the leadership of the Seventh Day Adventists Church to erect a building, blocking the entire stretch of a traditional access route in the area.
Residents of the town fear an imminent disaster may occur should there be fire outbreak at the Western part of Asokore due to the construction of the chapel, blocking the said road.
“When the people of Asokore migrated to the present town from the Ashanti region, the indigenes in their own wisdom created access routes without any official layout by the then local government. The colonial government later constructed public toilets for the people to improve sanitation in the town; which led to the creation of access roads to these places of convenience to enable cesspool emptiers to dislodge the toilets. The access roads included the Roman road, leading to a toilet in the Abrodua Electoral area, the Fofie road, leading to a toilet in the Fofie Electoral area, the Maame Yiraa road, leading to a toilet in the Sukuumu Electoral area, the SDA road , leading to a toilet near the Asokore Market and the Mission road leading to an abandoned toilet in the Abrodua Electoral area, due to a massive soil erosion, which prevented cesspool emptiers from getting access to the toilet,” an elderly man who pleaded anonymity narrated.
Planning officers in planning the layout of the town, the man continued, did not take into consideration some of the existing traditional access roads and left out these roads, including the SDA road leading to the toilet near the market.
The elders, in the petition further explained that “the SDA church was given lease for a small piece of land on the SDA road to construct a chapel for a period of seventy (70) years, starting, from 1937 to 2003. After the expiration of the lease in 2003, the church was made to pull down the Chapel by the New Juaben North NADMO officials when cracks developed in the building and became death trap members of the society.
Later, the church applied to the Lands Commission for a lease covering the piece of land on which the original chapel was situated and the surrounding areas on which other people have their houses.
The Benkum Traditional council of Asokore-Koforidua petitioned the Lands Commission to revoke the allocation of the plot to the church to enable the Fire Service have access to the adjoining areas should there be any fire outbreak.
However, “the Church, in cahoots with a high government official who is also a high member of the church have succeeded in persuading some of the traditional leaders of the town to allow the church rebuild the chapel to block the SDA road.”
In the petition signed by Kyei Ampofo, Afua Saah , Rose Larbi and Beatrice Frimpong, stated “the Western part of Asokore-Koforidua , stretching from the traffic light , leading to the Koforidua Senior High School, up to an area known as the Asona Gardens on the Koforidua –Tafo road which is about two kilometers stretch has only one official access road, which is the Roman road, and should there be any fire outbreak, the construction of the Chapel on the road is likely to block access of the National Fire Service to our homes.”
