Phase three victims of Appiatse disaster demand houses
Victims affected by the Appiatse disaster and captured in the “Phase 3” project are demanding their houses from stakeholders.
The group said if they did not hear anything positive from stakeholders by the end of August 2024, they would be compelled to embark on a demonstration to register their discontent.
At a press conference held at the Appiatse Old Site, Mr Joseph Abu Balu, secretary to the group, said as broken and desperate individuals, their lives have been rendered unbearable by the inaction of stakeholders.
He recalled that the Appiatse Phase Three project, which was beautifully commissioned by Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, had now become a distance memory, leaving them to suffer in silence.
He alleged that “leadership cannot show us the site for phase three, leaving our future uncertain. Our landlords are ejecting us due to rent arrears, making us homeless.”
Mr Balu said daily commitments like school fees and utility bills had become a challenge, affected their well-being.
“The very feeble ones have totally broken down and become a burden on already exhausted families due to ill-health. Those who had a dependent livelihood like stores and petty trading have all been reduced to nothing, leaving without income. We demand justice, fairness, and immediate action. We need our houses now,” he said.
In April, this year, more than 120 housing units were handed over to some victims of Appiatse, a farming community between Bogoso and Bawdie in the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipality of the Western Region, some two years after it was hit by a tragedy.
Mr Balu said the reconstruction was necessitated by an explosion that reduced the entire settlement to ground zero claiming more than a dozen lives and destroying property and livelihoods.
In January 2022, a vehicle carrying about 10 tonnes of mining explosives to the Chirano Mines collided with a motorcycle, resulting in a detonation of the explosives, which levelled the entire community.
Source: GNA