A seven-member committee tasked to see to the rebuilding of Appiatse in the Prestea-Huni Valley Municipality of the Western Region has been unveiled in Accra.
Chaired by the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Benito Owusu-Bio, the committee is to ensure the redevelopment of Appiatse into a green and sustainable community.
Other members are Sylvanus Adjornu, Director of Housing, Ministry of Works and Housing; Kwadwo Yeboah of the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authorit, and Charles Blankson-Hemans, representative of the Ghana Institute of Architects.
The rest are Robert Gyamfi, Resettlement Specialist, Nana Nuamah Kyei-Baffour, representative of the Ghana Institute of Surveyors, and Nana Atta Kwadwo Bremebi II, the Divisional Chief of Beppoh.
Unveiling the committee yesterday, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, said the government was committed to rehabilitating the destroyed community and ensuring normalcy was restored.
The fatal incident at Appiatse, he noted, had brought to the fore certain challenges which the government had resolved to address as soon as possible.
Already, he said, some progress had been achieved in the rebuilding process through the efforts of some state agencies working in close collaboration with the local authorities.
He charged the committee to draw up a comprehensive plan that would lead to the complete reconstruction of the community which would serve as the standard for resettlement going forward.
He noted that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was keen on the rehabilitation of the community, adding that the Ministry would ensure that all forms of support needed by the victims and the community were provided.
“The reconstruction of Appiatse is an all-important and major aspect of the process. Whatever we have to do to rebuild the community, the President has been very strong on that.
“The President has asked us to build this community as a model, Ghanaian village community, which is green, and which is sustainable, which is well laid out, and which can be an example for future development and villages in our country,” Mr Jinapor added.
He further reiterated the ministry’s readiness to work in unison with the Ministry of Works and Housing to build an eco-friendly community.
The minister appealed to Ghanaians and foreigners to donate to support the victims and the rebuilding of the Appiatse community agenda.
Mr Owusu-Bio said the team was fully ready to undertake the assignment given them, adding that “we are committed to delivering on our mandate.”
The chief of Appiatse, Nana Atta Kwadwo Bremebi II, expressed gratitude to the government and the ministry for their immense support to the community.
BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS
