Appiatse connected to national grid

On April 24, 2024, 1:30 AM

The Appiatse community in the Prestea Huni Valley Municipality of the Western Region has been connected to the national grid after the community was razed down by an explosion about four years ago.

The connection of the electricity formed part of the government’s commitment to rebuild the mining community.

The Assembly member for the Bepoh-Appiatse area, Thomas Yaw Enyam, confirmed that the community is being connected to the national grid.

He explained that adequate electric poles have been provided and the cables have been laid on them adding, “What is left is the fixing of transformers which I believe would be completed soon then the lights would be on”.

It would be recalled that the Appiatse community was razed down on Thursday, January 20, 2022, when a truck carrying explosives to a mining site exploded in the community.

About 13 people were reported to have died from the incident, with several others sustaining different degrees of injuries.

The government promised to ensure the reconstruction of about 124 houses that were destroyed and rebuild the community.

Currently, works on the community’s reconstruction have reached an advanced stage, and the project will be handed over for use soon.

In a recent interview, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Appiatse Reconstruction Committee, Thywill Quarshie, pointed out that the project was progressing.

He indicated that aside the housing units, all the roads in the area were also being reconstructed, adding, “Almost all the drainage system has been completed.”

He pointed out that the construction of the buildings was also at the finishing stages. He was hopeful that very soon the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry would hand over the first phase of the project for use.

He praised the government for its commitment to ensuring the speedy rate of construction of the housing units and said if it had not been for the intermittent rainfall, the project would have been completed long ago.

He also commended other organisations and individuals who supported the people in diverse ways when the incident occurred.

He, however, called on Ghanaians and other philanthropists to continue to support the community since the ultimate target has not yet been reached.

He said at the moment, some of the affected residents are still being accommodated in tents and a building that was given out by a mining company in the Western Region.