Photos: ‘Surprise’ dawn demolition at Trade Fair destroys Raymond Archer’s factories

The Ghana Trade Fair Co. Ltd has pulled down many structures belonging to some tenants on its premises.

The demolished structures included two factories belonging to the former editor of the Enquirer newspaper, Raymond Archer.

Property owners have been in and out of court with the Trade Fair company over its decision to evacuate them to pave way for expansion works at the premises.

The company on the dawn of Sunday, February 16, 2020, took its tenants by surprise when it brought in bulldozers to demolish structures on its premises.

Raymond Archer, who lost two of his factories — Universal Labels and Packaging Co. Ltd as well as Colour Planet Limited — said the government had deliberately targeted his business.

“We built a beautiful factory that employs over 120 workers. There are a lot of products we are doing now that we are the only factory in Africa that can do these kinds of works. So to see our government target a business like this and break it down midnight is really unacceptable,” he lamented.

The distraught Mr Archer added that “we are citizens here. How do you destroy one’s business because you want to bring another person’s business using politics? If you destroy my business with politics, then what? If I also get power, I also break it down? Where did we go as a people?

“And this business has nothing to do with politics. In fact, when I was doing this business, I specifically decided not to do government projects purposely because I didn’t want the politics in my business. Every work we’re doing here is for private sector”.