It was unfair to destroy Leslie’s Fantasy Dome – Okraku-Mantey
About eight months after the Fantasy Dome was dismantled to make way for construction work at the Trade Fair site, the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mark Okraku-Mantey, has expressed his dissatisfaction at the destruction of the facility as result of the exercise.
According to him, he felt there could have been a better way of dismantling the dome without damaging it.
“I do not think that leadership gave instructions that they should do what happened. Because if you meant well, [the structure was a] prefab. Just dismantle the man’s property. But I hear the people destroyed it. That one, we cannot defend it. It is unfair, it was unfair to him. If it meant well, it should have been done well. Sometimes, you give instructions and people will go and do things that will make you look bad,” he told Andy Dosty on Daybreak Hitz.
Asked what punitive measures were meted out to the workers that caused the destruction of the dome through the dismantling process, he said the Trade Fair does not fall under the ambit of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
Mark Okraku-Mantey, however, reiterated that prior to the demolition of the dome, he had called the owner, Leslie Quaynor about finding another place for its relocation.
He said he wanted to give Leslie a place at the National Museum. Unfortunately, the Dome was too big for the place.
About the demolition of the Fantasy Dome
On Saturday, March 16, 2024, the Ghana Trade Fair Company Limited demolished the 20,000-seater capacity Fantasy Dome.
According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Trade Fair, Dr. Agnes Adu, the action was taken after giving the owner by the CEO of Fantasy Entertainment, Leslie Quaynor, about eight notices to vacate the leased premises for a redevelopment project of the place., as stated in their tenancy agreement.
She stated redevelopment of the Trade Fair Centre had been ongoing for some time and as such, all previous tenants including owners of Fantasy Dome had been given notice to move.
“…the Fantasy Dome was the lone person holding out and refusing to move. And after 15 months of consistently giving notices to the owners of the Fantasy Dome, the owners and the developers we had no choice but to dismantle so that we can continue with the work,” she noted.
Dr. Adu said that per the agreement they signed with Fantasy Entertainment, they gave the CEO ample time to take off his structures.
Detailing the events that led to the demolishing, Mr. Quaynor, in an interview with JoyNews, narrated that his lease had ended and the process to relocate the dome to another venue was underway. As such, he requested an extension to which the Trade Fair disagreed.
To prevent the destruction of his property, Mr. Quaynor said he sought a writ and an injunction at an Accra High Court to ensure the Trade Fair management put a halt to any demolition exercise, giving him ample time to relocate and was served on the company at the premises.
Leslie noted that the incident was a big blow, not just to him as a businessman, but also to the entertainment industry which needs event centres like his, to thrive.