The Bui Power Authority (BPA) has formalized the allocation of lands and housing units built as part of the compensation package for the Project Affected People (PAPs) of the Bui Hydroelectric Project.
In this regard, the Authority will, on January 11, 2018, present land and housing documentation to the various heads of households resettled at the BPA Resettlement Townships in the Banda and Bole Districts of the Brong Ahafo and Northern regions respectively.
According to the Chief Executive Officer, Mr Fred Oware a total of one hundred and eighty five (185) household units were constructed under the BPA Resettlement and Community Support Program for one thousand, two hundred and sixteen (1,216) persons from seven communities and also the Game and Wildlife Officers.
The main elements of the Resettlement & Community Support Program he indicated includes new resettlement townships with following Communal Facilities with Community Centre
Nursery, Place of worship, Boreholes, KVIPs, Houses with rooms for Room, kitchen, bath and living room.
The other is the compensation for loss of economic trees at Land Valuation Division rates and Grants.
Mr Fred Oware also stated that resettlement rrant of GHS100 will be made available for relocation and this was the allowance given to each member of the affected communities to mitigate the incidental costs and inconvenience of relocation. It was a one-off payment sum of GHC100 for each member of the community including all age groups – babies to aged people.
“Farm Grant of GHS50 to till new farm: This Grant was an allowance paid to EACH household to aid in preparing new farms lands acquired for them by BPA as part of their resettlement. This amount went into ensuring that the cost of preparing the farm lands provided is not borne by the resettled farmer,” he stated.
The BPA had taken the view that the resettled families would need some time to properly adjust to their environment and re-establish their income generating activities even though the new environment was considered to be an improvement on the old settlement, hence a period of one year was considered to be a reasonable time for this adjustment to effectively occur.
He stated that, “For this one year adjustment period, a monthly allowance of GHS100 was paid to each household as support while the new farms were being tendered until full production. There is also the Livelihood enhancement to assist in alternative economic activities. The Implementation of the Resettlement Program was divided into three (3) parts as follows: the relocation of four (4) communities living at the construction site which included Agbegikuro, Lucene, Dam Site Village and Brewohodi, the relocation of three (3) communities living in the area to be inundated which included Bui, Bator Akanyakrom and Dokokyina, the relocation of officers of the Game and Wildlife Division living at an old and dilapidated Bui Camp.”
By: PROSPER AGBENYEGA