A committee is to be constituted by early next week to determine appropriate compensation for persons whose businesses and properties were affected by the recent demolition of facilities at La Pleasure Beach in Accra.
The committee will bring together representatives of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), the La Dadekotopon Municipal Assembly (LaDMA), traditional authorities, management of the affected beaches and the Member of Parliament for the area, Naa Odoley Sowah.
Mrs Sowah, who is also the Deputy Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, disclosed this when she appeared before the Committee on Local Government and Decentralisation in Parliament on Tuesday, October 6, 2026.
She said data had already been gathered on persons displaced by the exercise and their circumstances would be assessed to determine the form of compensation to be provided. She, however, stopped short of giving the exact nature and amount of compensation to be determined, saying that “the matter will be discussed by the committee before a decision will be reached.”
“We have gotten their data and the committee is going to look at what we are going to give to them as compensation. So those affected will be compensated and the decision for the type of compensation has not been finalised but as the MP I am following up deeply on that to ensure that everybody gets what they are supposed to get,” she said.
The MP made this known when the Committee on Local Government and Decentralisation engaged officials from the La Dadekotopon Municipal Assembly, who appeared before it to respond to questions over the demolition of beach facilities and related flood mitigation exercises in parts of the Greater Accra Region.
The Deputy Minister said the committee would also consider the needs of persons who might have to be relocated as well as those who might require financial compensation. She explained that the exercise involving the La Pleasure facilities was separate from the demolition at Laboma, which she said would be dealt with under a different arrangement. “Laboma Beach demolishing is a different issue but subsequently Laboma concerns will come up,” she said.
Giving an account of the Laboma demolition, the Chief Executive of the La Dadekotopon Municipal Assembly, Mr Alfredos Nii Anyetei, told the committee that the exercise was undertaken as part of measures to address flooding and restore an ecological site.
He said the assembly was not consulted but was shown in a meeting the locations where the exercise would be undertaken. He also said he was not aware that the MP had been specifically informed before the exercise.
The Chairperson of the committee, Mrs Queenstar Pokua Sawyerr, said the La Dadekotopon Municipal Assembly had the mandate and technical personnel to monitor development and protect waterways within their areas. She urged the assembly to strengthen its enforcement mechanisms to prevent people from re-filling areas that had been dredged or cleared to improve drainage.
She said although central government agencies could intervene in emergencies, assemblies should take responsibility for developments within their jurisdictions.
Mrs Sawyerr urged the MP and the assembly to ensure that the concerns of affected persons were properly addressed, assuring that “we will follow up on the outcome of the committee’s work.”
