Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has disclosed the initial cost of the reconstruction of the Appiatse community is approximately GH¢70 million.
The Appiatse Support Fund, he said, has been able to raise a little over GH¢43 million and stressed the Ministry hopes to raise more funds to ensure timely completion of the housing project.
The Lands Minister disclosed this during question time in Parliament on Tuesday, June 7, 2022 when he provided an update on the balance sheet of the Appiatse Funds and all the items that have been donated by individuals and groups to the victims of the explosion disaster.
According to him, the work being done in relation to the reconstruction of the Appiatse Committee is being spearheaded by a technical committee whose members are representatives of various Associations.
This group of experts, he said, led by Madame Joyce Aryee have put out a preliminary figure of GH¢70 million as the cost of the construction but stressed these are initial estimates and subject to variation based on goods and services.
The Minister indicated that the Ministry has segregated the rolls to ensure the smooth handling of the project; “Hence there is a Fund responsible for raising the money; there is the reconstruction Committee chaired by the Deputy Minister Benito Bio and then the District Assembly is responsible for the issues of welfare of the victims.”
“A lot of contributions have been made to the district assembly directly and in some cases, contributions have been made to the Chiefs of Appiatse directly. So they are coordinating those efforts.”
Mr. Jinapor explained that the priority of the accruals into the Appiatse Support Fund is to reconstruct the Community and assured if more than enough fund is accumulated, the Ministry will be more than happy to support the welfare issues of the victims.
The welfare of the victims, he said, is of utmost concern to the government and therefore the Ministry and the Assembly are working on it.
The Minister disclosed he will be travelling to Appiatse on Wednesday to ascertain the conditions in which the victims are living and indicated if there is any further effort or support, the Ministry will provide same.
Giving an update on the amount of money that the Fund has received so far, Mr. Abu Jinapor indicated that since June 2022 the Committee had received cash donations totalling GH¢42,527,38.
This amount, he said, includes the four instalment payment made by Maxim Ghana Limited out of which one million cedis has been presented to the Appiatse Reconstruction Implementation Committee to complete temporary structures to accommodate the victims of the incident pending the reconstruction as well as undertake preparatory works for the construction.
He stated the Committee has also received non-monetary contributions in the form of wood, cement, clothing, and cooking utensils.
“The breakdown of these contributions are as follows: Forestry Commission wood worth GH¢400,000; Kessben FM, 300 bags of cement, which together with transportation is valued at GH¢17,400; GACEM Ghana Limited, 1000 bags of cement worth GH¢85,000; Peewood and Tema Bonded Terminal, 1,700 bags of cement together with transportation valued at GH¢100,000 and relief items and used clothing from Madame Philomena Deborah.”
Mr. Jinapor assured that the Committee, in accordance with the highest standards of transparency and integrity periodically update the country on the donations made.
“The commitment of the government of President Akufo-Addo is to reconstruct the Appiatse community into a modern green and sustainable community as a model for rural development across the country.”
“Let me, therefore, use this opportunity to appeal to the general public, particularly members of this of this house to contribute generously to the fund and together and together rebuild Appiatse,” he added.
