Way Now Cleared for Bui Project
Originally published in The Ghanaian Chronicle
At last, the resettlement of the final batch of three communities, to pave way for the construction of the Bui dam, was accomplished last week Thursday, with the movement of Agbegikro, the largest among the three communities, to Jama in the Bole District.
The resettlement exercise, which commenced at the end of the first quarter of the year, has relocated 180 people from the three communities, namely Brehodi, Abegikro and Dam site.
In all 50 households have been built at Jama, in northern Ghana, to accommodate them.
Each household is entitled to a two-bedroom housing unit, with a bathroom and a kitchen attached to it.
In addition, a KVIP and a borehole have also been provided. Other facilities include a community centre, with a nursery school attached.
In an interview the Environmental Officer of the project, Mr. Salifu Wumbilla, said the resettlement was a vast improvement on what the people were earlier occupying.
He noted that apart from providing the people with modern buildings, each person also received GH¢100, being 20% tranche of the monetary compensation for inconvenience, due them.
Mr. Wumbilla added that a hundred-acre piece of land had been secured for the people at Jama, of which each household was entitled to two acres. Assistance had also been given to the people to clear the lands.
In an interview with this reporter, before moving to the new abode, Madam Akosua Nketia, a 30-year-old resident of Brehodi, was full of praise for the government, for providing them with such comfort.
"I am very delighted that they are moving us from here, because I have seen that the project is big, and we and our children cannot stay here to obstruct the progress of work," she said.
Mr. Kofi Goku, a fisherman, also commended the government for not neglecting them at the start of the project.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Tain, Farizana Bintu Ibrahim, who witnessed the exercise, assured the people of the government's support, always.
