MINISTER ASSURES FARMERS IN BUI DAM AREA (SPREAD)

Farmers whose agricultural activities have been destroyed by the Bui hydroelectric project, currently underway in the Tain District in the Brong Ahafo Region, will be adequately compensated, the Minister of Energy, Mr Felix Owusu Agyapong, has said.
He stressed that once the Land Valuation Board had completed its demarcation work and the necessary inventory of crops and other properties of the farmers had been documented, he would liaise with the Minister of Finance and other stakeholders of the project to see to the payment of adequate compensation to those who deserved it.
“Even the Constitution frowns on the non-payment of compensation to people whose lands and other belongings would be taken by the government in respect of any project or infrastructural development. In fact, we can’t take your lands for free,” the minister noted.
Mr Agyapong gave the assurance in reaction to concerns raised by the Chief of Jama in the Bole District in the Northern Region, Nana Kwadwo Pambo II, over the compensation package for farmers affected by the project. The farmers are currently resettled at Jama, a predominantly farming community at the other side of the Bui River.
The minister, accompanied by the Chief Director of the Ministry, Mrs Diana Hammond; Mr Addo Yobo, the Chief Executive Officer of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transport (BOST); Mr Antwi Darkwa, the Director of Power at the Ministry, and Mr Kwaku Acheampong, his Special Assistant, paid a working visit to the project site at the weekend to see at first-hand the progress of work.
President J.A. Kufour, on Friday, August 24, 2007, cut the sod for the commencement of work on the Bui Hydroelectric Power Project, which is being executed by Sinohydro Corporation of the People’s Republic of China.
The total cost of the project is about US$630 million, including a provisional sum for irrigation resettlement, employers permanent facilities and project engineering and administration costs.
Mr Agyapong told the chief and his elders that the ministry, the Bui Power Authority (BPA) and the contractors, as well as all other stakeholders of the project, were ready to work together with them towards the successful completion of the project, which, he said, had been on the drawing board for a long time.
He, therefore appealed to the people to be patient, while arrangements were being made to address the problem of compensation, saying that the project was for the benefit of all Ghanaians.
To another request for improved seeds and other farming inputs, extension of power to Jama from the project site, a police post, potable water and drugs for the Jama Health Centre, the minister gave the assurance that he would liaise with the appropriate authorities to ensure those requirements were provided.
However, Mr Agyapong explained that the Bui Power Project was a huge programme that involved the provision of many socio-economic amenities and infrastructure, including the building of the Bui City, adding that the government was indeed committed to ensuring that the project was successful.
From the Jama town, Mr Agyapong also visited the resettlement site in the area, where about 50 housing units had been constructed for the people from Agbegikuro and Lucene villages in the Bole District, as well as Brewohodi and Dam Site villages in the Tain District, mostly Ewe and Dagarti settlers engaged in farming and fishing.
At a meeting with the people, Mr Michael Torgbadja, their spokeperson, thanked the government for the effort to resettle them.
The minister reiterated his earlier call on the people to continue to be patient because the BPA was working around the clock to fulfil all the agreements reached before they moved to their new resettlement area.
Later in an interaction with newsmen at the Bui dam site, officials of BPA gave the assurance that the project would be completed on schedule or ahead of time because the work was moving at a fast rate.
In a technical brief, the Resident Engineer of BPA, Mr Oware Kissi, indicated that the construction of a resettlement camp at Jama for 48 households, made up of 216 persons living at the dam site, began in March this year.
Mr Agyapong also paid a courtesy call on the Paramount Chief of the Banda Traditional Area, Okokyeredom Osabarima Kwadwo Sito, at his palace at Banda Ahenkro.