About five hundred (500) property owners along Amasaman to Doboro stretch of the Accra to Kumasi Highways have dragged the Ghana Highways Authority (GHA) to Nsawam Court demanding payment of compensation on their properties to be affected by the dualization project of the road.
The plaintiffs have secured an interlocutory injunction on mass demolition exercise started by the GHA
A letter issued to the affected property owners and signed by then Acting Chief Executive officer of the GHA, N.D. Brown, ordered the owners to remove their properties within the road reservation acquired by the government in the E.I. 17 before 19th April 2020 to pave way for the Accra-Kumasi dualization road project to commence, that compensation has long been paid to those who were in occupation of the acquired road corridor right after the publication of the E.I. 17.
The letter further stated that demolition was going to take place on all properties extended into the road reservation (45m from the existing road centerline) acquired by the government of Ghana (GOG) by Executive Instrument (E.I. 17) dated September 16, 2005.
But speaking to the media at Nsawam, the affected property owners including owners of fuel stations, schools, hotels, shops, mosques, and clinics among many other structures, said GHA has failed to negotiate compensation with them but tried to demolish their structures hence their decision to injunct the exercise.
“There is an Injunction on them not to touch any property until the matter is heard. Our next court date is October 30, 2020. It is from Dobro right to Amasaman along all the stretch. I could say over 500 to 600 properties some people took some compensation and those who took the compensation know that they have taken especially lands around Medie and Doboro which I think they may represent about 30% of those affected Majority of us have not been compensated.”
“At the time of the issuance of the EI, there was just existing road which was not dua carriage. I think 2008/2009 there was this dualization again then they are trying to say that the center or the median that the EI stated is the dua carriage which is in existence now which is contrary stated because the EI stated that the median was on the existing road at that time which was only two lanes from the existing road at that time which was only two-lane so we were taking it at that point that that was the median .so now if you want to dualize the road you need to evaluate the affected properties and pay as deserving compensation but before we can talk about compensation we should know where the middle of the road was” Kwaku Agyei owner of Celhome hotel who is one of the leaders of the aggrieved property owners told the media.
Hotels marked for demolition have lost customers affecting revenue. According to the hotel owners, customers are no more
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Obed Ansah
