General News of Friday, 9 November 2012

Source: GNA

Court places injunction on three buildings located at Achimota

The Accra District Court has placed interlocutory injunction on three buildings suspected to have beeg built without permit and belonging to Nana Kwesi Boadu, owner of the building housing Achimota branch of Melcom Shopping Mall.

This was contained in a letter signed by Mr Richard Adigbli, Court Registrar, and Ali Baba Bature, the Magistrate.

The buildings, which the court believe were of poor quality building materials is accommodating Achimota branches of Fidelity Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and the residence of Nana Boadu.

To this end, the court had ordered all the occupant of the buildings to evacuate upon receiving the letter which was issued on Thursday.

Fidelity Bank has begun the process of evacuating its assets from the building.

Addressing the press, Dr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive condemned people who put up structures without the needed authorisation of the Metropolitan Assembly and its experts.

He announced that the assembly would soon undertake an exercise which would access the strength of all high-rise buildings in the metropolis.

He congratulated the rescue team comprising the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana National Fire Service, National Disaster Management Organisation, National Ambulance Service, St John’s Ambulance, Zoomlion Ghana and other organisations for their assistance.

He expressed his appreciation to the Israeli government for sending in an eight- member team to assist in the rescue mission.

Dr Vanderpuije appealed to residents at the disaster zone to exercise restraints and bear with the rescue team as they try to bring out those trapped under the rubbles.

So far, 78 people have been rescued with nine of them confirmed dead.

Those alive are on admission at Achimota Hospital, Police Hospital, 37 Military Hospital and Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

The Israeli team have detected additional nine dead bodies under the rubble and are drilling exits in order to bring them out.