The Minister for Roads and Highways, Governs Kwame Agbodza, says the government is considering reporting two quantity surveyors to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) over alleged attempts to inflate compensation claims for properties affected by road projects.
According to him, some surveyors allegedly persuade project-affected persons to reject government valuations, promising to secure compensation several times higher than the amounts assessed by authorised state agencies.
Mr Agbodza said the practice has cost the state significant amounts of money while causing unnecessary delays to road projects.
“We are looking at the possibility of reporting two of those people to EOCO for investigation,” he said.
He warned that surveyors who encourage affected persons to reject government valuations could soon face investigations.
“So if you are part of those people, anytime we do valuation, you tell people don’t accept it, we’ll get you four times, and then you delay the project, very soon EOCO will be at your door.”
The Minister made the comments during an inspection of asphalt works on a two-kilometre access road linking Feyiase to the Sewua Regional Hospital in the Ashanti Region.
The road is being constructed by Kofi Job Construction Limited.
Mr Agbodza appealed to property owners affected by road projects to rely on valuations conducted by authorised government agencies rather than engage external surveyors to renegotiate their compensation.
He alleged that some individuals approach affected property owners after government assessments have been completed and convince them to reject the amounts offered.
“Some people in our country approach those people and tell them not to accept the values that are being given to you. We can give you four, five, six times the amount that the government is offering you,” he said.
According to the Minister, some affected persons are subsequently encouraged to seek court injunctions against road projects, further delaying their execution.
“As a result, we have lost so much money, and sometimes the projects are delayed needlessly because of the behaviour of some of these people,” he said.
Mr Agbodza questioned how independent surveyors could arrive at valuations significantly higher than those conducted by surveyors working with the Ghana Highway Authority, Urban Roads and other government agencies.
“The people who value these properties from the Ghana Highway Authority, Urban Roads and others are the same surveyors; they went to the same school. How come when they finish their evaluation, somebody comes and tells the project-affected people, I can get you four times that amount of money?”
He stressed that the government would continue to compensate property owners whose properties are affected by road projects in accordance with the law.
The Minister also commended project-affected persons who have cooperated with the government during compensation processes for the Accra-Kumasi Expressway and other road projects.
He said the alleged practice was not peculiar to the Ashanti Region, noting that similar incidents had been recorded in Accra and other parts of the country.
