Communities appeals to VRA to pay compensation

Botoku (V/R), Aug 15, GNA - Mr Victor H.K. Mensah, the Chairman of the Botoku Djani Resettlement Township Development Committee, has appealed to VRA Resettlement Trust Fund to facilitate the payment of compensation for lands flooded by the Volta Lake.

The committee also appealed to the VRA to pay compensation for lands appropriated to resettle displaced communities.

Mr Mensah said this on Friday at the commissioning of a 181.8 million-cedi clinic built for the community by the VRA Resettlement Trust fund.

He told the GNA that such compensations should be considered in the context of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy because the 52 affected communities have had to endure a vicious cycle of poverty for more than 40 years.

Mr Mensah said because no compensation was paid for farmlands appropriated for distribution to inhabitants of the displaced communities, the landowners continued to dictate the terms on which such lands were to be cropped and proceeds used, often with the risk of violent clashes.

Chief Musa B. Adam, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the fund, said the issue is a legitimate concern but unfortunately the fund does not deal with compensation and promised to convey the concern to the Volta River Authority.

Chief Musa said the establishment of the fund in 1996 was a way of recognising and compensating the displaced communities for lost wealth and deprivation.

He appealed to each of the 52 affected communities to submit a comprehensive development plan to the fund to facilitate their systematic development.

Ms Akua Dansua, the Member of the Parliament for North Dayi, urged the resettlement communities to allow their neighbours to have access to facilities provided for them by the fund so as to promote healthy communal relationships.

She reminded such communities not to lose sight of the hospitality they continued to enjoy from their neighbours who had played host to them all these years.

On the importance of the clinic, she said the facility is a welcome relief since it would save them from travelling over 15 kilometres to the nearest hospitals at Anfoega and Kpando, especially during emergencies.

Mr Pius Adanuti, the Kpando District Chief Executive, urged the people to register with the District Mutual Health Scheme.