Re: Destruction of my Cocoa farm by Juttap Construction Company

Please, refer to your article which appeared in the Daily Graphic December 1, 2021, page 48, with the caption ‘Compel Jutap Construction to compensate me’ - Retiree appeals to Road and Highways Minister.

In the said article, the retiree by name Mr. Abraham Kofoya Tetteh made the following assertions:

• Flood waters of River Atiawa passes through the farm;

• Jutap Construction Limited had since March this year constructed a small culvert on the Atiawa rivulet which impeded the flow of the river as a result of which about three acres of this cocoa farm had been flooded.

• Mr Nketiah had refused to meet him for the past eight months;

We want to state that the aforementioned assertions by the retiree are not accurate based on the following observations during and after the construction of the structure.

• Mr Abraham Kofoya Tetteh’s (retiree) cocoa farm is at the upstream of the river, which is already a flood prone and flood plain and that has been the situation since time immemorial and this is corroborated by all and sundry who live in the area before the road construction by Juttap Construction Limited.

• We want to state that the existing structure at the problem location prior to the road construction was 1/900mm pipe culvert.

M/s Juttap Limited has now constructed 1/1200mm pipe culvert at the same location as a replacement.

The 1/1200mm pipe culvert has a bigger capacity to that of 1/900mm, which is at variance with the retiree’s assertion.

This new and bigger capacity structure has rather mitigated the perennial flooding that had been occurring for decades.

• Our office received a letter of complaint from the retiree on August 28, 2021, which is barely two months.

Mr. Abraham Kofoya Tetteh’s assertion, therefore, that the Regional Manager had refused to meet him for the past eight months is completely false.

What is more, it should be put on record that neither the office nor Mr Seth Osei Nketiah (Regional Manager) ever refused to meet Mr Abraham Kofoya Tetteh.

Based on the aforementioned, we want to state that Mr Abraham Kofoya Tetteh’s assertions are completely unwarranted and so therefore his appeal for compensation cannot be entertained.

Mr Seth Osei Nketiah, Regional Manager.