Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) Ebi Bright has led a team from the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) to intervene at an ongoing government project being executed by TDC Ghana Limited at Tema Community One, Site 3 (Lots 1 and 2). The action, which included ordering an immediate stop to work and demolishing portions of structures on the site, has raised questions about coordination between the two public institutions.
The project involves the construction of shops and office spaces on behalf of the Government of Ghana. At the time of the intervention on Wednesday, 12 August 2026, it was still in the early stages of setting-out and site clearing. The TMA maintains that the land is designated as open space for public use, including a community playground and other facilities, and that construction proceeded without the required statutory permits from the Assembly.
In a letter dated 10 August 2026, accompanied by an enforcement notice, the TMA cited relevant provisions of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936), the Land Use and Spatial Planning Act, 2016 (Act 925), and its own bye-laws on unauthorised development. It gave TDC a seven-day ultimatum to halt work and submit the necessary permits, warning that non-compliance would trigger enforcement action.
TDC Ghana Limited responded the following day, arguing that the Assembly’s stance was inconsistent with long-standing institutional arrangements governing government projects in the metropolis. The company indicated it would escalate the matter to relevant statutory bodies for an inter-institutional resolution.
However, before the ultimatum expired, MCE Bright, accompanied by police officers and Assembly staff, visited the site. She told residents that the issue had been discussed at the metropolitan security level, that multiple prior warnings to stop work had been ignored, and that proceeding without TMA permits constituted a violation of the law. Bright emphasised the Assembly’s mandate to restore access routes for residents and enforce planning regulations.
The confrontation has effectively suspended the project and highlighted underlying strains in the working relationship between TDC Ghana Limited (historically central to Tema’s planned development) and the TMA. Work remains on hold pending resolution of the permit and land-use disputes.
