People of Owabi to be resettled

The chiefs and people of Owabi have agreed to fund the cost of relocating themselves at a site they have chosen which is close to their present location belonging to the Apagya Stool. The resettling had become necessary because the people of Owabi face the danger of being swept away should the Owabi Dam collapse.

Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, Minister of Works and Housing, said this on Tuesday in Parliament in an answer to a question as to whether the Ministry was considering resettling the people of Owabi.

He said earlier efforts at resettling the people of Owabi suffered setbacks because all the previous sites chosen fell within the catchment area of the dam, which had been designated as a wildlife sanctuary. Alhaji Idris said the chiefs and people agreed to fund the cost of their relocation only after they were provided with land near Awasum (Mpamprom).

The Minister said the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) had commissioned a diving services company, Messrs Aquatec Diving Services, to undertake an urgent inspection of the dam and to submit a report on the extent of siltation to GWCL for action to be taken.

He said in furtherance to this, daily readings of the Water level were recorded and any excess water was released to prevent flooding. The Owabi Dam situated at Owabi in the Atwima District of the Ashanti Region was constructed in 1928,and provides raw water for supply of potable water to the residents of Kumasi West.

The capacity of the treatment plant later became inadequate for the whole of Kumasi and the Barekese Dam was constructed as additional source of water. The House also on Tuesday passed the Criminal Code (Amendment) Bill, which is to amend the Criminal Code 1960, Act 29 to enable the offence of robbery to be tried either on indictment or summarily.

Robbery, under Section 149 of the Criminal Code 1960, Act 29,is a first-degree felony and attracts a penalty of life imprisonment or any lesser term. As a crime that could be punished by life imprisonment, the trial must be on indictment by a judge and jury as stipulated in Article 19(2)(a) of the Constitution.

However, the general public has, in recent times, expressed dissatisfaction with the indictment processes in view of the inordinate delay it causes to the trial of robbery cases. Considering the traumatic effect on victims of robbery, the victims naturally desired to see their tormentors dealt with expeditiously by the justice system.

The Bill is therefore an expression of Government's sensitivity to the complaints of the public, the Attorney - General Papa Owusu Ankomah said when he presented the Bill to Parliament.