Property and business owners affected by the construction of the Anyinam to Akyem Kwabeng highway in the Eastern Region are threatening to disrupt ongoing works on the Akyem Kwabeng stretch of the highway over failure to be compensated.
The affected residents say they are aware their properties including stores, filling stations and houses affected by the construction were evaluated and captured in the contract sum but no effort is being made by the contractor, Jilcom Company limited or the Ghana Highways Authority to get them compensated.
The construction of the 10km highway has already commenced with 1.2km of it starting from Kwabeng Junction to Muoso as a dual carriage.
Some service facilities such as pipelines and electricity poles, as a result, were affected as well as properties including houses, church buildings, fuel filling stations, container shops among others.
Two months into the construction, residents affected are still sprawling to be compensated with having their businesses collapsed because of the demolition exercise that paved the way for the construction.
“For the past two months, I have not been supplied fuel because my filling station has been earmarked for demolition to make way for the road construction.
“You can see they have graded around. I have lost huge money but the construction company has failed to sit with me to agree on a compensation plan for relocation and we are all here hopeless,” one of the affected, an owner of fuel filling station, Abdul Hamid Ibrahim told Starr News.
Mary Baah was nearly crushed to death with her two children while bathing when one of the trucks belonging to the construction firm failed break and crashed her bathhouse minutes after moved out.
She said effort to get the construction company to rebuild the bathhouse for her family has been met with hostile reaction.
Effort made to get the contractor for his response on the matter was not successful, however, Raymond Owusu-Nanah, the Eastern Regional Quantitative Surveyor with the Ghana Highways Authority explained to Starr News that, valuation on the affected properties have been done of which Ghs85, 000 have been paid for relocation of some essential service properties such as pipelines and electricity poles.
He was quick to, however, stated that funds were yet to be released for payment of other affected properties and a consultation meeting will be arranged to explain to the property owners.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Kojo Ansah