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The Minister for Roads and Highways, Governs Kwame Agbodza, has warned that the government may refer two quantity surveyors to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) over alleged attempts to inflate compensation claims for properties affected by road projects.
Mr Agbodza accused some surveyors of persuading project-affected persons to reject compensation valuations conducted by government agencies, while promising to secure amounts several times higher.
He said the practice was costing the state significant sums of money and contributing to avoidable delays in the implementation of road projects.
“We are looking at the possibility of reporting two of those people to EOCO for investigation,” the Minister said.
“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,” he warned.
Mr Agbodza 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 project is being executed by Kofi Job Construction Limited.
Surveyors accused of driving up compensation demands
The Minister alleged that some individuals approach property owners after government valuations have been completed and persuade them to reject the assessed amounts.
“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 Mr Agbodza, the practice can result in affected property owners seeking court injunctions to stop projects while compensation disputes are resolved.
He said such actions had led to unnecessary delays and increased costs for government.
“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 stated.
Minister questions conflicting valuations
Mr Agbodza also questioned how private surveyors could arrive at valuations significantly higher than those conducted by surveyors working with government institutions such as the Ghana Highway Authority and Urban Roads.
“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 asked.
He urged property owners whose lands or buildings are affected by road projects to rely on valuations conducted by authorised government agencies and avoid being influenced into rejecting legitimate compensation offers.
Government assures affected property owners
Mr Agbodza reiterated that government would continue to compensate property owners whose properties are affected by road construction projects in accordance with the law.
He commended project-affected persons who had cooperated with government during compensation processes for the Accra-Kumasi Expressway and other road projects.
The Minister stressed that the issue was not peculiar to the Ashanti Region, saying similar compensation-related challenges had been encountered in Accra and other parts of the country.
He said government remained committed to ensuring that legitimate compensation claims were addressed while protecting public funds from what he described as inflated and potentially unjustified demands.