Drivers Battle Lighthouse Chapel

Dag Heward Mills is the General Overseer of Lighthouse Chapel International

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday February 15, 2010
Some drivers at La, a suburb of Accra yesterday demonstrated against the Light House Chapel International for attempting to erect a fence wall around the Olympia Cinema where the church operates.

Incidentally, the premises in contention is also used by the drivers as a lorry park and they say it will keep them out of business if the project was completed.

The drivers have vowed to make things uncomfortable for the church if the construction of the fence is not stopped.

Between 8 am and 12 noon, the drivers clad in red armbands staged a peaceful march around the cinema to register their displeasure about the development and intermittently obstructed both vehicular and pedestrian movement.

Gene Quarshie, Chairman of the La Drivers Welfare Union told the Daily Guide in an interview that the area was given to them to operate as a lorry station by one Captan who owned the land where the cinema is located.

“We have operated this station for more than 60 years and have never had problems with anybody. Even when the church took over the cinema, there had not been any problem until recently when they decided to fence the premises and keep us out”.

He admitted that the union did not own the land but claimed the church did not have the authority to keep them out of the lace, threatening “we will never leave the premises. We were here before the church came.”

“We are now forced to park on the streets. We are appealing to the La Mantse to offer the church a parcel of land behind the Trade Fair so that we can serve the public from the premises”.

Mensah Sackey, Assembly member for La Kplanaa Electoral Area said the lack of social amenities in the locality has created undue congestion.

He accused the church of ignoring the numerous advise he gave them claiming “the church is showing disrespect to the drivers despite my advice to them to go through the right channel to resolve this matter.”

He said the fenced wall was demolished by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) because the church did not have the necessary permit to develop the land.

Aslso see: www.dailyguideghana.com