Kumasi, March 13, GNA - Muslims in the Asawase community in Kumasi have expressed concern about the decision of the Control Office of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to re-zone the area currently being occupied by Nurul Ameen Islamic School as an electricity sub-station for the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). They community has therefore called on the KMA to reverse its decision and re-zone the land for the school because of the important role it plays in the socio-economic and religious development of the children in the area.

This was contained in a communiqu=E9 issued at the close of a meeting to deliberate on a letter issued to the occupants of temporary structures at the open space at Asawase on Sunday. The communiqu=E9 said, "We are aware that authorities of the school have applied and continue to request for the re-zoning of the land since 1960 and therefore see the decision to re-zone the land to other organisations as unfair". The communiqu=E9 indicated that there were over 4,000 children in the school from the kindergarten through primary, junior and senior secondary schools and the demolition of the school would affect the children and their parents who would have to look for new schools. It said structures at the school had been removed temporarily, leading to overcrowding because the KMA had refused to approve applications written over the years for the release of the land to enable it build permanent structures.

Addressing the meeting, Alhaji Boniface Abubakar Saddique, the Northern Regional Minister, observed that if the land was taken from the school, it would puncture the peace "we are all enjoying and will turn the clock backwards". He urged the KMA to sit down with the school authorities and reach a compromise, pointing out that the ejection of the school could seriously affect the lives of the children. Alhaji Karim Grusah, an elder and chairman of King Faisal Football Club, advised the youth not to read politics into the issue and stressed that frantic efforts were being made to find an amicable settlement to the issue. Sheikh Abdulrahman Peter, Manager, who conducted the GNA round the school, said since its 46 years of existence a lot of prominent people who now occupied high positions in the country had passed through the school.