BUI POWER PROJECT WILL BE FULLY EXECUTED (PAGE 20)

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bui Power Authority (BPA), Mr Jabesh Amissah-Arthur, has assured communities affected by the Bui power project that the government will continue with all the plans on the project and also deliver on schedule.
Mr Amissah-Arthur gave the assurance at Bui in the Tain District in the Brong Ahafo Region when he met the chiefs and people of the three affected communities yet to be resettled.
The communities are the Bui village, Bui Camp and Akanyakrom.
Mr Amissah-Arthur further gave assurance that his administration would continue with the Bui city component of the project as designed but was quick to add that this required huge capital.
He, however, indicated that the BPA would create the enabling environment for the private sector to participate in that component of the project.
Mr Amissah-Arthur said his administration would create an open-door policy with the affected communities and therefore urged them not to hesitate to clarify any issue concerning the project.
On the resettlement, Mr Amissah-Arthur said the final batch of resettlement would be in August next year and advised the affected communities to be in readiness.
He called on landowners in the area to submit their claims to the appropriate quarters as initially directed by the former CEO for studies, and assured all the communities that they would benefit from all facilities that their counterparts at the Jama resettlement camp were enjoying.
The CEO said although his administration welcomed the suggestion for an industry to be set up upon completion of the project to create employment in the affected communities, his outfit would extensively brainstorm on exercise with the inhabitants before taking any decision.
The chief of Bui, Nana Kwadwo Wuo II, who spoke on behalf of the three communities, commended the CEO for calling on them to seek their opinions and added that they were ready to cooperate with his administration to deliver the project as scheduled.
He appealed to the BPA to build the human resource capacity in the affected communities by way of instituting a scholarship scheme to assist the people to climb the educational ladder.
Nana Wuo II further called on the BPA to set up a committee to address various land ownership-related issues in the area to avoid future problems during the payment of compensation.
The chief was, however, worried about lack of information in the past that created suspicions among the people and urged the new administration to involve the communities in issues relating to them.
The Manager of the Bui National Park, Mr B. Akonnor, warned some community leaders who had started felling trees in the reserve to desist from the practice as the law would deal with any community leader found culpable.