THE chiefs and people of Adjena and Pesse, two farming communities in the Asuogyaman District, have vented their anger on the Volta River Authority (VRA) for persistently refusing to pay adequate compensation to persons whose lands and buildings were submerged in water during the construction of the Akosombo Dam.
They have also pointed accusing fingers at the VRA for failing to fulfil its obligation of providing them with the basic social amenities such as decent houses, a junior high school, potable drinking water, accessible roads and a clinic to improve their living standards.
“While the VRA has been providing scholarships to their own children and those from well-resourced communities, not even a single brilliant, needy student from our villages has ever enjoyed such scholarships for the past 46 years that we were resettled”, they said.
Otwasuom Osae Nyampong III, the Kamenahene and Nana Okorwaa Asifrom, Queen of Adjena, expressed her concern when the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, and his Deputy, Baaba Jamal, as well as the District Chief Executive for the area, Mr Johnson Ahiakpor, held a meeting with the people in the two communities and some officials of the VRA.
They said “what motivated us to give out our lands in the interest of the nation has now kept us in sheer poverty and hardship”.
The meeting was to address the heightening tension that triggered a demonstration by the people against the VRA recently. The demonstration was used by the people to vent their frustration over VRA, which they accused of reneging on its pledges to support the resettled communities.
“Until the VRA shows commitment to fulfilling its promises by providing us with the basic social amenities and paying the due compensation to persons affected by the construction of the dam, even the aged with walking sticks will rise up against the VRA and never shall we pay our electricity bills,” the people threatened.
The traditional authorities maintained that prior to the resettlement of the people to their present location, they were living a comfortable life in their own houses, where they had access to fertile lands, houses, potable water, among others.
“Our cocoa, plantain and yam farms as well as other sources of livelihood were all destroyed during the construction of the dam,” Otwasuom Osae Nyampong said.
He added “compensation due us for our submerged houses and lands have not yet been paid by the VRA”.
The Kamenahene also stated “since we were relocated, lack of basic amenities has made us live in poor houses without lands to farm on, no access to good drinking water and roads”.
“We are not asking the VRA to put up decent houses for us at once, but it should endeavour to provide us the basic amenities to raise the living standard of the resettled communities,” the queen of Adjena, for her part, stated.
Reacting to the concerns of the people, the Town Manager of the VRA, Mr Meister Afriyie, said when the VRA Trust Fund was established in 2005, the authorities asked the people affected in the 52 resettled communities to furnish them with the necessary document for compensation to be paid, but only a handful of them did so.
“Many people who came forward could not prove authentic ownership of the houses and the lands for which they wanted to be compensated”, Mr Afriyie said.
Responding, Mr Ofosu Ampofo, did not mince words by rebuking VRA for failing to provide the resettled communities with such basic amenities over the past years.
“If you truly claim these particular two communities as your landlords, then why have you not treated them fairly over the years, even by giving a scholarship to a single brilliant student in the area?” The minister asked.
Mr Ampofo called on the VRA and the Asuogyaman District Assembly to collaborate in providing the needs of the two communities.
He also pledged to forward the grievances of the resettled communities to the government to ensure that they were immediately redressed.
Mr Ampofo, therefore, appealed to the chiefs and people of the communities to pay their electricity bills, while measures were being instituted to address their concerns.
No comments:
Post a Comment