Angry landowners whose property has been destroyed as a result of the re-construction of the Suhum-Kwafokrom stretch of the Accra-Kumasi Highway yesterday blocked the entrance to the yard of the construction firm, China Water Electric (CWE), to prevent its workers from working on the project.
The action of the landowners was to protest the failure of the government to compensate them.
Construction work on the 31.7-kilometre project, which started on December 17, 2008, is being funded by the government at a cost of GH�157,605,542.78.
As early as 7 a.m. the aggrieved landowners, some of them septuagenarians and octogenarians, besieged the main entrance to the yard of CWE near Asuboi in the Eastern Region and succeeded in preventing the company�s workers and vehicles from leaving the yard to the work site.
A 66-year-old man, Kwame Owusu Dome, who acted as the spokesperson for the landowners, said although their property was destroyed five years ago, no compensation had been paid to them.
According to him, his sawmill at Suhum, which was his only means of livelihood, was destroyed for the rehabilitation of the road.
The consequence, he said, was that he had virtually become a pauper and declared that he and other landowners would continue with the protest until their compensations were paid.
Mr Dome said although some of the affected 620 landlords and ladies had received part-payment, most of them had not yet received anything and called on the government to honour its commitment to give them sustenance.
A landlady, Madam Adwoa Amoah, 73, who could hardly walk, said she would continuously visit the yard of CWE until she was paid her compensation.
When the Daily Graphic visited the company�s premises at about midday, the aggrieved landowners were still by the gate and the workers of the company had been holed up on the premises.
The Resident Engineer, Mr Joseph Opuni Mensah, who was said to have left the place early in the morning, could not be contacted on phone for his comment.
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