The government has acquired a total of 443,503 acres in the Brong Ahafo and part of the northern region for the construction of the Bui Hydro-electric Dam project. Osahene Kwaku Aterkyi, Omanhene of Kukuom Traditional Area in the Brong Ahafo and a member of the Bui Secretariat in charge of Acquisitions, made this known when he led a delegation to inspect the Bui Dam site in the Tain District of the Brong Ahafo Region on Monday prior to the signing of the acquisitions in Sunyani on Wednesday, March 19, 2008. The delegation was made up of officials from the Lands Commission, the Survey Department, Land Valuation Board, Stool Lands, Town and Country Planning, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Volta River Authority (VRA) and other related agencies and departments. It also met with the chiefs and people of the communities to be affected by the construction of the dam to plain the acquisition process to them. Nana Aterkyi explained that the acquisition plan would be published after the signing ceremony with the chiefs. This, he said, would enable those whose lands would be taken over to come out with a detailed plan of their lands to claim compensation. Nana Aterkyi stated further that the areas that would be most affected were at the Upper stream of the lake while the down stream, which would not b flooded, would be used for the Bui City Project and a university. He assured the people that a comprehensive resettlement and alternative livelihood packages had been put in place to make life comfortable for those who would be affected by the project. The chief however appealed to the chiefs and people of the various communities that would be affected by the project to exercise restraint and support the government to ensure the successful completion of the project, which, he noted, would be of immense benefit to all. The Project Director, Mr Godfred D. Boateng, disclosed that the designed studies of the project had been completed. This, he said, had paved the way for the heavy construction works of the project to begin by May, this year. Mr Boateng added that the heavy construction activities at the dam site from, May would involve the closure and diversion of the river. He further disclosed that the heavy machinery for the project, currently on the high seas, would arrive at the port by the end of March. The Project Director said the people living close to the dam site would be relocated to a temporary place and would be resettled at a permanent place in the Bui City that would be constructed as part of the project. Mr Boateng assured the people that they would be guided by the mistakes in the construction of the Akosombo and Kpone dams. He appealed to the chiefs and people in the area to desist from granting interviews to the media and non-governmental organisations that visited the area since it often creates unnecessary tension, which was not good for the smooth start of the project. The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr. Ignatius Baffour Awuah, reiterated the call on the people to exercise restraint and support the government for a successful execution of the project, which would take three years to complete. The chiefs and people at the meeting appealed to the government to pay the proper compensation promptly to the people when the time came and live up to all the promises made to the people to avoid the repetition of the mistakes of Akosombo and Kpone. They also called on the contractors of the project to give equal employment to the people from the various local communities, saying that the locals should be considered first when it came to employment for unskilled labour. It would be recalled that President J.A. Kufuor on August 24, last year officially cut the sod for the construction of the Bui Hydro-electric Dam and the Bui City projects. Source: Daily Graphic