The Buduburam Camp in the Awutu Senya constituency in the Central Region of Ghana, which has for over 20 years been a place of abode for refugees, mostly Liberians will soon be demolished, Women Voices newspaper has reliably gathered.
Buduburam is a refugee camp in the Goamoa East district and located along the Accra-Cape Coast Highway. It was established in 1990 to accommodate the influx of Liberian refugees who fled to Ghana when Charles Taylor came to power.
In a report filed by Graphic.com.gh, the place which has over two decades served as a home for refugees will be razed down for the area to be redeveloped.
Over the past few months, there have been countless reports of crimes and other social vices being traced to the camp.
Various pockets of crime including robbery attacks, assassination, and other socially unacceptable deviant behavior have been traced to people who have used their place as a hideout and safe haven from security personnel.
Speaking to the Ghanaian local daily, Daily Graphic, the District Chief Executive, (DCE) for Gomoa East, Solomon Darko-Quarm, said the demolition of the camp was in response to a request by the chiefs over the increasing criminal acts in the area.
Darko-Quarm said the demolition would also pave way for redevelopment of the area to befit the district’s status as the gateway to the Central Region.
“It has become a fast-growing community which needs social and economic amenities to befit its status,” the DCE said.
The Buduburam Camp was opened by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 1990 as a home to more than 12,000 refugees from Liberia who fled their country during the first and second Liberian civil wars
The UNHCR began pulling out of the camp in April 2007, slowly withdrawing all UNHCR-administered services.
In February 2011, Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Information indicated that Buduburam is no longer needed and that the inhabitants should consider returning to Liberia or settling elsewhere in Ghana.
Souce: YEN.com.gh
