Demolition of old Parliament House an act of vandalism – K.B Asante

• Posted on September 12, 2017September 12, 2017
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Statesman and former Secretary to Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, has described as shocking the demolition of the old Parliament House, on the orders of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).

The building, which was situated exactly opposite the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, in Accra, was pulled down Monday morning. In an interview on 3FM 92.7 K.B Asante expressed shock at the news of the demolition, calling it an act of vandalism of the first order.

“To me, it was a shock. To me, it was the vandalism of the first order. CHRAJ; they don’t have the authority to pull down the government building without government’s consent,” he burst out. The worried statesman asked: “No, no, no! I don’t understand what is happening. Have we a rule of law?” He indicated that the demolished building did not belong to CHRAJ, adding that the Commission had no authority to have pulled it down, in the first place. “It was given to them (CHRAJ) for use and they cannot do as they want,” he said.

The Old Parliament House is said to have accommodated Ghana’s legislators from the era of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah till 1981, when the PNDC ousted the government of the People’s National Party (PNP) under the leadership of Dr Hilla Limann. History has it that on the eve of independence, on March 6, 1957, Dr Nkrumah declared independence at the Old Polo Grounds, opposite the Old Parliament House.

By Solomon Mensah