3,000 to be resettled for Bui Dam project

Sunyani Jan. 29, GNA - More than 3,000 people living around the Bui River in the Tain District are likely to be resettled following the construction of the Bui Dam, Mr Joe Danquah, Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency said on Tuesday.

The MP made this known during an interaction with executives and members of the Brong Ahafo Regional Student Union (BASU) at Bui as part of their familiarization visit to the area.

Mr Danquah said all the affected persons would be resettled in temporary structures at places of their choice and would later be transferred to the proposed Bui city.

He added that a task force had been formed by government under a steering committee to counsel the affected citizens before the resettlement in April this year.

The MP said more than 300 houses would be demolished and that only those structured, which were already in the area would be considered in the exercise.

Mr Danquah denied the allegation that the construction workers at the Dam site had been dominated by foreigners and explained that the contractors were now doing the engineering works and had not reached the actual construction stage.

He told the students that about 3,500 workers would be employed for the construction and gave the assurance that out of the number 2,900 would be recruited from the country.

Nana Benjamin Osei, Okyeame of Banda Bongase, thanked government for the project, saying it would help the unemployed youth to acquire jobs to stem the high crime rate in the District and urged the government to open a secondary school in the community. Nana Benjamin Osei promised that the chief and elders would not allow any confrontation between the youth and the workers on the dam site but would ensure that all problems, which would arise during the construction, would be settled amicably.