The government has compensated over 500 individuals who lost their properties after the construction company working on the Kasoa-Winneba road engaged in a rock blasting exercise at Buduburam.
Although some recipients expressed dissatisfaction with the amount given to them, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Gomoa East, Solomon Darko Quarm, disclosed that the government also paid inconvenience allowances to the beneficiaries.
In October this year, Nag Fairmount Construction Limited embarked on a blast in the Buduburam section of the Kasoa-Winneba Highway.
Several properties, including shops on the highway, were destroyed after rock fragments from the blast penetrated through some roofs of buildings situated along the stretch.
Three lives were also lost in the blast, while many sustained injuries on various parts of their bodies. There were assurances from the government towards paying compensation to affected shops and individuals.
However, after a long wait, the government has fulfilled its promise by paying compensation to over 500 individuals who were affected by the blast.
The Gomoa East DCE noted, “Today we are paying compensation for the blast that occurred at Buduburam. Over 500 people are being compensated today. Shops, damaged vehicles, and other residential property owners are being compensated. There are rumours that ECOWAS is the one paying the compensation, but I want to state on authority that ECOWAS is not the one doing the payment.
“This is a government of Ghana project, not ECOWAS as is being purported. All this shared propaganda is just because of the elections. We finished our work as a committee, and the contractor called that we must come for the money and distribute it to the affected people. Those in the first group and the last have all been factored in the distribution.”
“The contractor executing the project has factored a lot of activities and added it to his total cost and collected the money from the government of Ghana, so he is paying the money and will collect from the government later. We even factored inconvenience allowances into the entire cost, so don’t mind people who are inflating the price of their affected items.”
Quarm also indicated that victims who lost their properties earlier in the year after a diversion and flooding of the Gomoa Okyereko stretch have been compensated in the form of building materials.
Meanwhile, the District National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) Director, Robert Hackman, expressed disappointment at some recipients for over-pricing their destroyed properties, adding that this is bringing an additional burden to the committee.
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