Mampong-Amanfo residents ‘fight’ Lighthouse Chapel for ‘blocking’ their roads

Residents of Mampong-Amanfo in the Eastern Region have raised concerns following the blockage of their major access road which leads to Tutu Akwapim.

The road blockage is caused by the construction of the Anagkazo College, a Bible School owned by the Lighthouse Chapel International.

The building of huge walls has inconvenienced residents as more than nine access roads leading to Tutu Akwapim have been taken.

Residents say the situation is causing a great nuisance as they have been left with no other alternative rather than to use the long winding main road leading to Accra instead of the shorter one when going to Tutu Akwapim from Mampong-Amanfo.

They bemoan how some ill-health residents die on their way to the hospital because of inability to get to the facility early enough as a result of the long distance.

Some of the residents have also accused the church of using “Guerilla tactics” by erecting the huge wall around people’s lands in order to frustrate land owners until they are forced to sell their lands to the church.

An aggrieved resident, Mr. Kojo Yeboah whose family land has been allegedly walled around by the Mampong-Amanfo Light House Chapel noted that land owners cannot have access to their lands because of the project.

He further revealed that injunction has been placed on the Lighthouse lands because of blocking of all the access roads, a directive the church is allegedly flouting as they continue to erect walls and pull down bridges built for residents.

Mr. Kojo Yeboah further alleges that founder of Light House Chapel, Dr. Dag Heward-Mills is aware of the atrocity being perpetrated, but has done nothing about it even though he has visited the project site on several occasion.

Meanwhile officials of Lighthouse Chapel International are yet to give their side of the story as they have promised to do so in the course of the week.

Last year in October after the residents protested against the Mampong-Amanfo Lighthouse Chapel over pollution of their source of drinking water, the church quickly responded and provided portable drinking water to calm the residents.

However, residents are appealing to the church to treat the water as they claim they are unable to drink the water because it occasionally changes colour.