Former National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Freddie Blay, has challenged the ownership claims used to justify the demolition of the Polo Beach Club, insisting that the property stands on land belonging to the La Traditional Council rather than the Labadi Beach Hotel.
Mr Blay, speaking in an interview with JoyNews following the demolition of the facility, maintained that his son had obtained permission from the traditional authorities before developing the property.
He explained that his son initially approached the Labadi Beach Hotel with a proposal to acquire part of the beachfront for development. According to Mr Blay, the hotel directed him to the La Traditional Council on the grounds that the land did not belong to the hotel.
Mr Blay said his son subsequently entered into discussions with the traditional authorities and eventually secured a lease for the development of what became the Polo Beach Club.
He said he personally accompanied his son to the La Traditional Council during the negotiations and witnessed the agreement reached between the parties.
Mr Blay therefore rejected suggestions that his son was merely occupying the property without authorisation. He argued that the dispute over the land had already entered the judicial process and questioned why the facility was demolished while the matter remained unresolved.
According to him, the Labadi Beach Hotel had previously taken his son’s company to court over the property, with the issue of whether the company was an encroacher forming part of the matters before the court. He claimed the hotel later withdrew the case after realising that the proceedings were not developing in its favour.
The Polo Beach Club was demolished on Friday, October 2, 2026, during a wider clearance operation along the La beachfront involving personnel from the Ghana Armed Forces’ 48 Engineer Regiment and the Ghana Police Service. Contemporary reports confirm that the demolition formed part of a broader clearance exercise in the La Beach area.
Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Operations, Stan Dogbe, said the exercise was undertaken under National Security supervision following a request from the Labadi Beach Hotel.
According to Mr Dogbe, the hotel had complained that structures and commercial activities along the beachfront were affecting the security, serenity and reputation of the facility as well as the experience of its guests.
He also clarified that the exercise was independent of the government’s flood mitigation programme.
Mr Blay had earlier questioned the decision to demolish the facility while the property dispute remained before the courts. He maintained that his son had lawfully obtained the land from the La Stool and rejected assertions that the business was unlawfully occupying the site.
