Vice President intervenes in Kwabenya refuse saga

Vice President Aliu Mahama on Thursday appealed to residents of Kwabenya to allow the resumption of work on the Land Fill Sanitary Site project, while the issues of compensation, environmental and other socio-economic problems were being addressed.

In pursuant of this, a meeting is to be held on Tuesday at the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development for stakeholders to discuss the issues for redress.

Alhaji Mahama, who met demonstrators at the project site, one of who was arrested with a cutlass, appealed for calm and tolerance, saying compensation would be paid to those who deserved it, while those who needed resettlement would be catered for.

Residents, citing possible health and environmental concerns, non-payment of compensation and other problems, stopped the project in September by blocking access routes to the site.

Their action is reportedly causing the state a loss of over 30 million cedis a day in payment of breach of contract to Taysec Construction, the contractor.

Alhaji Mahama said that since the first phase of the project was about 75 per cent complete, it was prudent to ensure the completion of that phase, which would finish in four weeks.

So far, the government has spent about 3.6 million dollars out of a British grant of 6.5 million dollars to fund the project.

Kwadwo Baah Wiredu, Minister of Local Government, who, with other government officials, accompanied the Vice President, stressed the need for the nation to have land fill sites to dispose of waste and called for co-operation.

Angry protesters confront Vice-Pee, others

There was pandemonium at Kwabenya, on the outskirts of Accra, yesterday when a government delegation, comprising the Vice President Aliu Mahama, Local Government Minister Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, and Accra Mayor Solomon Offei Darko arrived on an inspection tour of a newly acquired Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) site for its waste management project.

Irate residents, clad in red and black mourning cloth and chanting war songs, mobilised themselves and confronted the government officials.

“Kwabenya does not want refuse, we want schools,” they chanted.

In the ensuing confusion, a protester attempted to attack the officials but he was arrested by the police.

Mr. Laryea, head of the Waste Management Department of AMA, was manhandled by mob and a police officer who went to his rescue was slapped by an angry protesters.

It was revealed that the chief of the area had already sold the land to AMA.

It would be recalled that a few weeks ago the inhabitants of Mallam, a suburb of Accra, protested against the environmental hazards posed to them by AMA refuse site In the face of this AMA decided to acquire a new site at Kwabenya for a modern refuse dump project.

When the chief of the area, Nii Tetteh Ankamah II, was questioned about the issue, he explained that since the project would benefit them he could not reject the government’s initiative.

However, Mr. Amoah, caretaker of the land, said that no AMA official had ever consulted them on the acquisition of the site and the project itself.

Later, when calm had been restored, the Vice President assured the residents that the project would not pose any environmental threat, but rather generate job opportunities for the youth in the area and urged them to cooperate with the government.