The Minister for Roads and Highways, Governs Kwame Agbodza, has warned individuals who allegedly encourage project-affected persons to reject government compensation offers by promising them higher payouts.
Mr. Agbodza said such practices were contributing to unnecessary delays and increased costs in major road projects being undertaken across the country.
Speaking to the media on Friday, August 21, after inspecting some ongoing road projects in Kumasi, he explained that government agencies and surveyors conduct assessments and evaluate properties affected by road projects, determine their values, and pay compensation in accordance with the law.
However, he said some individuals subsequently approach affected property owners and persuade them to reject the government offer that has been assessed by surveyors, claiming they can secure compensation worth four or five times the government’s offer.
According to the Minister, some affected persons are consequently encouraged to seek court injunctions against projects, resulting in delays and additional costs to the state.
“We are also taking the opportunity to appeal to some citizens of ours who, anytime we do a project like this and the relevant agencies go to take the inventory, evaluate, and put values on those properties for compensation under the law, some people in our country approach those people and tell them, ‘Don’t accept the values that are being given to you; we can give you four or five times the amount government is offering you,’ so they sometimes encourage the people to go to court to put an injunction on the project.
“We have lost so much money, and sometimes the projects are delayed needlessly because of the behavior of some of these people,” Mr. Agbodza said.
He appealed to individuals engaged in such activities to stop, arguing that their actions do not benefit either the state or the property owners.
The Minister questioned how persons arrive at compensation figures higher than what the qualified professionals working with agencies such as the Ghana Highway Authority and the Department of Urban Roads offer to affected persons.
“The people who value these properties from the Ghana Highway Authority, Urban Roads, and others are the same surveyors and went to the same school,” he said.
Mr. Agbodza disclosed that the government is considering referring at least two individuals to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) for investigation.
“We are looking at the possibility of reporting two of those people to EOCO for investigations,” he stated.
The Minister also commended project-affected persons who have cooperated with the government on road projects and complied with the compensation process.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to paying compensation in accordance with the law, while urging project-affected persons to exercise caution when approached by persons promising significantly higher offers.
