Farmer's action stalls electrification project

Half Assini (W/R), June 24, GNA - Electrical extension works on Kabenla-Suazu has been temporally halted barely 24 hours after it began when the contractor was threatened at the work site. Mr Francis Kwofie Agyiliarah, an aggrieved coconut farmer from a nearby Egbazo community chased the contractor and his workers for felling his coconut trees without compensation.

Mr Paul Eduku Ackah-Bile, an elder of the town, made this known when briefing the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Jomoro, Mr Sylvester Daddieh on the state of the town's electrification project on Monday during a visit to the community.

Mr Ackah-Bile said the workers were paving the way for the project from Old Kabenla-Suazu towards Egbazo and upon reaching Mr Agyiliarah's coconut plantation, the farmer confronted the workers with a cutlass and threatened to slash any of them for the further felling of his coconut trees.

He said the workers were frightened with the farmer's threat action and accordingly abandoned the work. Mr Agyiliarah when contacted by the DCE over his threat action on Monday, said he had mortgaged the affected plantation for the renovation of his family house which was now at roofing level. He said he had no means to complete the renovation or refund the lender's money since the destruction of his plantation had not attracted any compensation from the government, hence his action. He said the electrification project had destroyed about 200 coconut trees on his farm thus depleting the entire farm at the expense of the family's survival and warned that he would not rescind his decision until he had been assured of some compensation. "I will prefer to be eliminated from the world in the course of fighting over the plantation than to live and see my family's property destroyed."

The DCE appealed to him and all those who were involved in the electrification project to exercise maximum restraint to enable him to open negotiations to find an amicable solution in the matter for the project to continue.