Chief demands compensation for refuse disposal site

Edina Essaman, April 9, GNA - Nana Kwesi Tandoh IV, Chief of Edina Essaman and Gyasehene of Edina Traditional Council, on Wednesday expressed his resentment on the grave unfairness and total disrespect for his elders and himself by the Komenda Edina Eguafo Assembly (KEEA). Nana Tandoh IV said, since 1992 when the Assembly was separated from that of Cape Coast and the issue for a dumping site cropped up, and he and his elders assisted, the Assembly had been using the land without any consideration to the land owners. He said he was therefore demanding GH¢15,000 as compensation from the KEEA for the over 16.32 acres of land used for the dumping of waste for the past 16 years.

Nana Tandoh IV, who made this known at a press conference, denied being a shareholder in a perceived private company to re-cycle plastic waste at Aburansa near Komenda and demanded for a probe into the matter by the Bureau for National Investigation(BNI)to clear his name. He said, in 1992 after KEEA was carved out of Cape Coast Municipal Assembly (CCMA), there was the urgent need for infrastructural and social developments and the then DCE and his team were pressed to look for and obtain a site for waste disposal.

The team then approached him and his elders after several chiefs had turned them down, and that he accepted to help when the team assured them that plans were far advanced for the waste to be processed into products such as organic fertilizer and organic gas for both domestic and industrial use. The team, Nana Tandoh said, assured him that the venture would create a lot of employment for the area. He said based on this he made available 16.32 acres of land for the project and that the team explained that since all the ventures hinged on commercial enterprise; he and his elders were only part of it using their land as equity. Nana Tandoh said if the KEEA decides to relocate then the Assembly should ensure that all the waste was removed and full payment for the period of land use was paid.