Minister assures residents of proper use of Appiatse reconstruction funds

The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, has assured residents of Appiatse that every contribution made towards the reconstruction of the community would be channelled through that developmental agenda.

He stated that “monies donated after the explosion that displaced the Appiatse community and even claimed lives on January 20, would not be diverted or misappropriated, it would be used for the intended purpose”

Mr Jinapor gave the assurance when the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources organized a community engagement at the Appiatse Relief Camp in the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipality to interact directly with the residents, update them on the government’s interventions and also solicit feedback.

The Minister said “As the rainy season was about to set in, under the able leadership of my Deputy Minister, Mr Bonito Owusu-Bio we are putting in place the necessary measures to protect the citizenry and properties at the relief camp.

“The Ministry would work closely with Future Global Resources (FGR), the mining company that gave out its Dumasi resettlement site to house Appiatse community. We would work on some uncompleted structures that had already begun to serve as temporal accommodation for the victims. The temporal structures would augment the tents we have already erected,” he indicated.

He announced that “Thankfully companies like Tropical Cables have agreed to provide electrical cables free of charge so in a matter of weeks we should be able to complete the temporal structures for the time being as we go through motions and processes to build this township for the citizens of Appiatse.”

Mr Jinapor explained that the Appiatse reconstruction implementation committee which was chaired by the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources with a team of professionals had made a presentation to the community.

He indicated that, even though the Divisional Chief of Beppoh, Nana Atta Kwadwo Bremebi II, was part of the committee, they decided to involve the citizenry to enable them own the project.

“We had a fruitful engagement with them, and we would continue till we get to the point for us to commence the actual construction work,” he said.

Mr Jinapor added that “Out of the generosity of Ghanaian people we have been able to donate 6,000 bags of cement, we want to make sure that we put the cement to effective use, so we have set up a small block factory here. The chief and assembly member have mobilized the young men and they are moulding blocks.”

He added that “The whole idea is that we are proactive and very eager to rebuild this community in record time. We are not just building but we are building a sustainable green community which would be a model Ghanaian township”.

Mr Jinapor thanked the Chief of Beppoh, his elders and the residents of Appiatse for the support.

Nana Atta Kwadwo Bremebi II, Divisional Chief of Beppoh, on his part said “We have realised the efforts made to aid in the development of Appiatse community. We are currently going through the phase of becoming a new and functional community.”

“Through this incident, a lot of other social matters may arise and I expect the inhabitants of the community to do their best to avoid such situations as it may hinder our progress” he stated.

He expressed gratitude to the government, FGR, Member of Parliament for Prestea Huni-Valley constituency and the Municipal Chief Executive for being with them through these challenging times.