The Ghana Refugee Board has clarified that Buduburam is no longer categorized as a refugee camp and that many of its inhabitants are not refugees.
This clarification comes in the wake of the demolition of several homes belonging to individuals living in the area. As bulldozers razed their homes, residents were forced to salvage their belongings.
In interviews with Citi News, some of the affected individuals expressed their disappointment with the government of Ghana, citing feelings of abandonment and uncertainty about their future.
However, Tetteh Paddie, the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Refugee Board, explained that out of the numerous individuals whose houses were demolished, only 268 are officially recognized as refugees.
He added that plans are currently underway to relocate them to other refugee camps within the country.
“Buduburam is no longer a refugee camp. We have several people living there who are not refugees. In fact, most of the people living there are not refugees, including the Liberians. Since the demolition, we’ve done some head counts and so far 268 persons who are actually refugees have come forward as having been affected.
“Those are the people we have a responsibility over and we are working on relocating to a refugee camp, we are moving them away from Budumburam.
“We have two refugee camps in the Western Region, in the Elembelle district and we are moving them into one of these camps. Out of the 268 people who have come forward, 231 have opted to go to Ampain. So for these people who have opted to go to the refugee camp, we will provide free transportation. We will provide some amount of money for them to start, this will be provided by the UNHCR, they are our partners.
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