A GNA Feature by Philip Tengzu
Poyentanga (UW/R), Sept. 22, GNA – For the people of Poyentanga and surrounding communities in the War West District, the construction of a new 24-Hour Economy market is tied to hopes of employment, increased commercial activity and development.
But for 14 households and many other people whose homes and businesses were demolished to make way for the project, development had come at a cost they were still struggling to bear.
For over three months after the demolition, the affected families said they had received no compensation or relief from the government, particularly the Wa West District Assembly.
Some of the affected people had moved in with relatives, while others were living in uncomplete structures or single rooms with their children and grandchildren, after their homes were destroyed on May 19, 2026, to pave the way for the construction of the market.
Among them were elderly persons, people living with disabilities, women and children whose homes, businesses and sources of income and livelihood had been destroyed.
Some of the affected residents, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Poentanga, lamented the difficulties they were going through without the government’s intervention.
The lamentations
“If my house had not been destroyed, I would have been staying there in peace. I would not have probably been assaulted,” said a 64-year-old victim, Madam Cecilia Kavaarpuo.
At 64, Madam Kavaapuo expected to spend her later years in the home she had built for her family.
Instead, she was trying to rebuild her life after the demolition left her household of eight without a home.
To find shelter, she moved in to stay with her relatives in the family house, but was assaulted by a relative, which left her with a fractured arm.
“I stood there and looked at my house and everything in it being pulled down by the bulldozer. I could not pick up even a roofing sheet. I could not control it; my tears rolled,” she lamented.
For her, the issue is not merely the loss of a building; it is the loss of a place where she could live with dignity and security.
The education of her four grandchildren and two stepchildren was in limbo as they were taken in by their uncles.
Also, 65-year-old Mr Sansan Oor had compounded his challenge of living with the effects of a stroke for several years.
Before the demolition, he operated a bar and cultivated mango plants at his home, from which he earned his daily bread, a decent livelihood and bought his medications.
Today, his home, bar and mango plants are gone, but he said they had been destroyed to pave the way for a project that would benefit thousands of people, including his family.
“I am not saddened by the demolition because they said they are coming to build a market for us, and I know the market will also bring development to the community”, he said.
Mr Oor, however, questioned why no relief items or rebuilding support had reached them several months after the exercise.
“I don’t know whether the government has any support for us or not, but I think that as a government that cares about the welfare of the citizens, it should have at least provided some relief support to us”, he said.
Mr Sansan is now living in an incomplete structure, where he said he had been “abandoned here to die”, because apart from the difficulties of fending for himself, he was unable to procure his medication.
For Madam Mary Gban, who was probably in her late 50s, the demolition exercise had reduced her family’s living space to a single room, which she shared with her two grandchildren.
Her son, who lives in Wa, sleeps on the veranda of the rented single room at Poyentanga whenever he visits because they could not afford to rent an additional room.
Mr Dangu Kojo, 75, said: “We, those they destroyed our houses, if you see some, you cannot recognise them again because of the frustration.”
He said the MP and DCE had promised to help the affected households within four months but wondered why the support was not forthcoming.
For 65-year-old Mr Barnabas Dindoe, the truncation of his 30 years of tailoring business and the structure that sheltered him had left him with high blood pressure.
“It has become a sickness for me. I went to the clinic, and they said I have BP,” he said.
The loss of his livelihood had made it difficult for him to support his son’s education in senior high school as well as meet his own basic needs.
These narratives represent a fraction of the ordeal the affected people in the demolition exercise at Poyentanga for the 24-Hour Economy market are facing.
They made a passionate appeal to the government, through the MP and the Wa West District Assembly, to support them in rebuilding their lives.
The victims’ demands
A group of the affected residents, calling itself Poyentanga Displaced Residents Association, welcomed the allocation of plots of land by traditional leaders in the area to the 14 affected households.
However, it said land alone could not complete the recovery process and demanded clear and time-bound compensation for affected households.
The association said the MP, DCE, contractor and other leadership of the National Democratic Party (NDC) met the affected residents on May 31, 2026, and assured them that appropriate support would be provided within four months.
It, however, said nearly four months after the assurance, only plots had been shown, with no relief package, follow-up visit, or assessment of the gravity of the destruction commenced.
The traditional authorities’ position
The Chiefs of Naahaa and Poyentanga said they had done their part by making land available for the affected families.
“We can only provide them with the land, but it is not our responsibility to build it for them,” they said.
Naa Adama Tiffere IV, the Chief of Naahaa, observed that the 24-Hour Economy market had the potential to facilitate development, attract businesses and create employment for young people in the area.
He recognised the dire impact of the demolition exercise on the lives and livelihoods of the affected people but said the market’s historical traditional significance was a factor in the decision to retain it at its existing location.
On his part, Naa Abdullai Salia, the chief of Poyentanga, said they agreed with the MP that traders whose shops were affected would be given shops in the completed market and be allowed to operate for some time before paying rent to the Assembly.
He said they also agreed that those whose homes were demolished would receive plots and support to rebuild, which the chiefs had fulfilled.
Naa Salia told the GNA that he had requested the land documents to sign so that the affected households could receive copies.
However, he said he could not speak to the government’s or MP’s support arrangements because he had not been told when assistance would be provided.
The Assembly’s assurances
Meanwhile, Mr Richard Wulo, the Wa West DCE, told the GNA that the 24-Hour Economy market project design did not make provision for compensation in the construction process.
He said though the Assembly was paying for the project construction through the District Assembly Common Fund, it was not obliged to pay compensation, but that the Assembly had taken the initiative to support the affected people with building materials.
He added that he had also engaged the contractor on the project to support the 14 affected households with two trips of sand each, while the MP had also expressed resolve to support them with building materials.
“If we had the capacity, we would have gone beyond where we are now (the provision and demarcation of plots), so we are pleading with them to exercise restraint”, he stated.
Mr Wulo also encouraged the affected people to engage the Assembly if they had concerns for clarification.
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah
Writer: Philip Tengzu, GNA
Writer’s email address:[email protected]