The Accra Turf Club has staged a peaceful demonstration in Accra to protest the reported demolition and proposed redevelopment of Ghana’s only racecourse at Borteyman.
The demonstration, held on Thursday, September 10, brought together more than 300 jockeys and racehorses from various turf clubs across Accra.
The protesters began their march at Independence Square before submitting petitions to key state institutions, including the Ministry of Sports and Recreation, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Presidency at the Flagstaff House and the Lands Commission.
Chairman of the Accra Turf Club, Lawyer Frederick Nuer, said the demonstration was intended to draw attention to what the club considers an injustice and to appeal for government intervention to protect the racecourse.
“We are not sitting down for somebody who is a private developer to come and develop the land that is for the racecourse,” Lawyer Nuer said.
He subsequently appealed directly to President John Dramani Mahama to intervene and prevent what the club described as an unlawful development of the racecourse land.
According to the Accra Turf Club, the institution has a history spanning more than 100 years, making the preservation of the racecourse not only a land issue but also a matter of protecting an important sporting tradition in Ghana.
“This club is over 100 years and that tradition cannot die,” Lawyer Nuer said.
The club is also calling on the Lands Commission to halt what it alleges are unlawful transactions involving the Borteyman land.
Lawyer Nuer explained that the club had previously reached an agreement with the government to swap its former racecourse land, located around the area near the Kempinski Hotel and the Accra International Conference Centre, for the current site at Borteyman.
The Turf Club is therefore demanding that the government honour what it says was the agreed land arrangement and protect the Borteyman racecourse from private development.
The chairman further urged Ghanaians and others who support the principles of freedom and justice to stand with the club in its efforts to reclaim and protect the land.
The Accra Turf Club is now awaiting a response from the government and relevant state agencies to its petitions and its call for presidential intervention.
