Some aggrieved residents who are yet to be captured in phase three of the Appiatse reconstruction project have threatened to disallow the usage of the newly constructed 124 homes.
On Thursday, May 2, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, commissioned the 124 households under the Appiatse reconstruction project.
Although the beneficiary residents of phases one and two of the project expressed satisfaction, victims who were compensated with some money to repair their damaged structures, and those yet to be captured under the subsequent phase 3 of the project, are not enthused.
One of the residents who has been given money, Alhaji Osman Ibrahim, said, “Prices have gone up, prices of iron rods, roofing sheets, and other materials have gone up. The money they gave us is not enough. Thieves have stolen all the building materials, and we have to purchase them again. Some received GHS7,000, others GHS8,000, and so on. They constructed the road to a certain part and left it in front of our houses.”
“They also refused to provide us with light and water. It will not help if they come and stay when ours is not ready. We have warned before that we will not allow anybody to come and occupy the place, because the disaster affected all of us in a day. How can some live with lights while we don’t have any?”
One of the aggrieved residents, Joseph Armoh, said, “I’m not happy today, even though it’s a good thing to commission it. But why would you build and commission for others, while others are still in pain? We should all be relieved from the pain on the same day. I think what they did is not in favour of all of us.”
“Some of us are not happy about it, even though we are here to support the commissioning of phase 1. We want to say that whoever is in charge of phase 3 should double up, to let us also get our building, so that we can also feel at home. I’m currently living in a rented apartment in Bogoso.”
“We’re not happy, because we expect certain things to be done before this commissioning and as I talk to you, there are a lot of things that have not been put in place. We came to support the government to do the commissioning, we have taken a decision to do a press conference and we will let the whole nation know what we are actually going through.
“The phase one they commissioned is not even completed. The water installation is not completed yet, every house has been fixed with a water closet. Can they stay without water? How are they going to cope? Some of the block houses which were pulled down by the contractors have not said anything about it yet. When are they going to start and complete?” Another aggrieved resident, Kingsford Philip Amponsah, said.
In January 2022, a vehicle carrying about 10 tonnes of mining explosives to the Chirano Mines collided with a motorcycle, resulting in the detonation of the explosives, which destroyed the entire community.
After the unfortunate incident, the government immediately commenced the reconstruction process, which has seen the completion of 124 housing units and auxiliary facilities for the survivors.
The newly built structures, ranging from one-bedroom to seven-bedroom units, come with enhanced facilities, including a market, six-unit classroom and kindergarten blocks, inner roads, water and electricity, a drainage system, and a water storage system.