Authorities at the Bui Power Authority (BPA) are pointing accusing fingers at some Non-Governmental Organisations who are influencing residents in the area to make outrageous demands from the BPA before relocating to their newly built settlements. A Resettlement Officer at the BPA mentions for instance that some people have said they will move to their resettled homes only if the BPA provides them with a swimming pool and a basketball court. The Officer disclosed in an interaction with Adom News that some of the Bui residents who live near the Black Volta are claiming their new homes are quite far from the river which also serves as a means of cooling off when the weather temperatures move up, and therefore are demanding an alternative in the form of a swimming pool, to serve that purpose. The Officer said the BPA has however held talks with the residents to back track on their demand for a swimming pool for the reason that, they will soon have access to the river when work on the dam is complete. Meanwhile the demand for a basket ball court, Adom News learnt, has also been withdrawn, after the people were told a community play ground has been provided for them to mount the courts if they so wish. Although the BPA suspects some NGO’s who interact with some of the communities might be behind these requests, it says the outrageous demands have now gone down as the locals have developed high confidence in the Authority. Residents at the Dokorkyewa Community have already resettled in their new homes, while the Bui and Battor Communities say they will move in when the community school, Community Centre and a Clinic are provided. A tour to the area revealed that the Community School is now complete, the Community Centre is near completion while the Clinic is under construction. Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of BPA Jabesh Amissah-Arthur says there was no plan to develop a city along the Bui dam. Mr. Amissah-Arthur told journalists that plans to construct a Bui city could lag behind due to the fact that no economic activity has yet been identified, which could be the driving force behind the development of an ultra modern city. “The reality is that, the Bui City is still a concept for which no financial provision has been made” he stressed. He said the challenge facing them is how to identify businesses that will be sited there to drive the economy even though his outfit has received proposals to develop the area. In a related development, Mr. Amissah-Arthur has disclosed that the Bui dam project which is expected to be completed by December this year, could delay if government does not take measures to source for funding to address the issue of the funding shortfall. According to him, the project is experiencing a shortfall in funding arising primarily from unanticipated effects of the recent global upheavals as well as unforeseen essential works. “These global events have resulted in the inadequacy of the budget provided for some line items in the EPC Contracts and therefore a shortfall totaling $168 million” he noted. He said the BPA has written to the sector ministry to source for funding latest by end of April, else the scheduled deadline for the completion of works on the dam will delay. Story by Jerry Tsatro Mordy