Squaters Jeopardize Further U.S. Aid Package

Delays in building a U.S.-funded highway in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, may jeopardize a new aid package from the U.S., a senior Ghanaian official said.

Squatters have refused to move from a 14-kilometer section of the N1 highway, which links Accra with the ports of Tema and Takoradi, meaning the $126 million project may miss a completion deadline of February 2012, said Martin Eson-Benjamin, chief executive officer of Ghana’s Millennium Development Authority.

If the people don’t move “there is a good chance that the road may not be finished and the difficulty may be that the Americans may not be able to look favorably at us for a second compact,” Eson-Benjamin told reporters in Accra. “We are praying for everybody not to put any impediment in the way.”

The road project is part of a $547 million aid package from the U.S. government’s Millennium Development Authority, which is also funding other road, agriculture and rural development projects. The board of the Washington-based agency said Jan. 5 Ghana was eligible to apply for new aid funds upon “successful completion of first compacts,” according to a statement on its website.

The highway is being built by China Railway Wuju Corp. and Portugal’s MSF Construction.

The government has already paid $11 million to business- owners and residents in the road’s path, some of whom have refused to move, Eson-Benjamin said.