The chief flanked by his subjects addressing the media
THE Chiefs and residents of Adjena, a resettlement community in the Asuogyaman District of the Eastern Region, have threatened to take action against the Volta River Authority (VRA) if the promises they claimed were made to them are not fulfilled.
Addressing a news conference over the weekend, Chief of Adjena, Nana Twum Barimah III said “the VRA acquired our lands and claimed they would allocate to us as farmlands. This they did not pay any compensation to us. They later took away the said land from us, compelling us to farm on rocks.
“We have said severally that the VRA should pay us compensation for our land used for the Akosombo Dam. Fulfil the promise of the modern township, fix our roads and back off Mpakadan lands.”
Nana Twum Barimah III revealed that from the 1880s to the time construction work begun on the Hydro Dam at Akosombo, Adjena was involved in commercial activities mainly farming, fishing, and trading and the area was vibrant, but added that the better livelihood of the people halted when the dam was constructed.
He said they were relocated for the dam to be built at Akosombo and they were promised better living conditions which he said, never came.
“The then President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, promised that he would make sure that the people of Adjena were not shortchanged. But what do we see now? There is rather abject poverty, discrimination, suppression, segregation, etc,” he disclosed.
He said that “because of the emergency nature of our relocation, the government said that they were going to temporarily relocate us after which better houses would be built for us but they have refused to fulfil their part of the bargain.”
“We have continued to live in these mud houses for close to 60 years. All these houses are dilapidated and serve as death traps,” the chief said, adding “there is no proper drainage system in the town and we have been suffering too much.”
Nana Twum Barimah III further claimed that “the lands for the construction Tank Farm and Director’s Quarters were illegally acquired by the VRA as no compensation has been paid to us,” and added that the state-owned company ‘entered’ their lands to construct the Maritime Club House near the dam in 1989.
He continued that the VRA has failed to reconstruct the historic palace which was submerged during the construction of the dam.
“There has been no compensation for the lands they acquired for the construction of New Adjena township. What type of travesty is this? They have deprived us of our livelihoods making Adjena to be subjected to economic, social, and moral agony,” the angry chief said.
“The motto of VRA is adding value to lives, yet look at the plight of the landowners. We are deprived of our livelihood,” he added.
Nana Twum Barimah III demanded that Adjena should be properly compensated as soon as possible for them to cease further agitations.
FROM Daniel Bampoe, Adjena