Mr Sekyi addressing the media
Properties on the Weija Ridge of the Akoasa Mountain, near the Kasoa tollbooth on the Accra-Winneba road, are likely to be displaced to make way for a proposed buffer zone.
The buffer zone is to ensure safety and also pave way for the implementation of engineering designs that will help stabilise and rehabilitate the location.
The stabilisation will consist of cutting the top part of the ridge, while rehabilitation will take the form of proper construction of drainage channels and the greening of the place in order to prevent sedimentary materials from falling on the western corridor road.
The Chairperson of the Technical Group for the Liaison Group for Mining in Production Forest Reserves (LGMPFR), Ransford Sekyi, mentioned this in an interview when he led a team from LGMPFR to the site.
He indicated that the move to create a buffer zone needed to be implemented urgently in order to avert the danger that may befall the country.
“If the stabilisation of this place is not done, it will destroy all the properties and also block the western corridor route,” he cautioned.
The Akoasa Mountain has over the years gained notoriety for its deteriorating conditions which make it a disaster-prone area.
The situation is largely attributed to the poor topography of the place and other environmentally unfriendly human activities such as stone quarrying, tree burning for charcoal and encroachment activities.
Highly unnoticeable were the deep cracks that had developed in the cliffs on the mountain and gullies, with a depth of 30 metres as a result of erosion.
Mr Sekyi, who is also the director of the Inter-Sectoral Network Division at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), explained that though no definite timeline had been set yet, there was the need for a broader stakeholder engagement in order to help the liaison group to facilitate the project.
He said such an engagement would help the group fashion out modalities for resettlement and possible compensation for encroachers.
It was observed during the visit that some construction had been ongoing despite a ban on construction by the Ga South Municipal Assembly (GSMA) at the site.
It was for that reason that the Works Engineer for GSMA, Felix Ofosu Tei, indicated that though most structures at the location did not have permit, the assembly was challenged in demolishing such structures as that would require due legal processes to be followed.
Meanwhile, the team members also visited the Weija Dam to acquaint themselves with the activities of the Ghana Water Company.
It was realised that the previously degraded areas around the dam had been reclaimed while a joint military and police taskforce had been stationed there to prevent further encroachment and dumping of refuse into the dam.
The LGMPFR is made up of representatives from the EPA, Minerals Commission (MC), Inspectorate Division on the Minerals Commission (ID), Forestry Commission (FC), Forest Services Division of the Forestry Commission (FSD), Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR), the Ghana Chamber of Mines (GCM) and the WRC.
By Issah Mohammed