Jomoro DCE supervises felling of coconut trees for electricity project

Mr Sylvester Daddieh, Jomoro District Chief Executive, on Monday supervised the felling of coconut trees at Anlomatuope Number Four, an Ewe fishing community near Half Assini for the electrification project to take off.

The plantation owners were demanding GH¢40.00 on each of the 126 coconut trees affected by the project before their felling, thus halting the start of the project in the early morning till the DCE's intervention later.

The coconut plantation owners had gone to demand the compensation from the project beneficiaries thus hindering the project from taking off.

The DCE on arrival at the project site met the parties involved jointly, where he expressed grave concern over the delay of the project after having informed the plantation owners about the nature of the project and its non-compensatory aspect.

Mr. Daddieh later ordered the contractor and the beneficiaries to start felling the trees in his presence for the project to take off before his departure from the place, which was done.

Abusuakpanyinli Akromah, Anlomatuope Regent, called the DCE to the site following Mr. Menlah Kintu, the leader of the plantation owners' refusal to allow any of the trees to be felled without paying compensation and thus threatening the community leaders over it.

According to Abusuakpanyinli, the beneficiaries had mobilised a total of GH¢1,500 as compensation to the coconut tree owners to appease them for the felling of the trees but they rejected it as woefully inadequate and therefore demanded GH¢40.00 per tree of the 126 which amounted to the total of about GH¢5,040.

The government is currently connecting four more communities including the area in question in the Jomoro District to the national grid.**