Ghana Water, Lesico Infrast haggle over Compensation

Residents of some communities in the Volta region who are tormented by an ongoing 85-million-euro water supply rehabilitation and expansion project being executed by a leading Isreali company, Lesico Infrastructure, are suffering hardship never befitting of Ghanaians, for they have not been compensated, even though the project has devastated them.

But while the affected, predominantly farmers, languished in misery in their respective communities, the awarding institution, Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and the contractor, Lesico Infrastructure, represented by Lesico Ghana, are at each other’s throat over whose duty it is to pay the compensation.

Under the project name – Keta Water Supply Rehabilitation and Expansion Project, the following communities stand to benefit in the long haul but are baring the brunt of GWCL and Lesico’s fight over who is supposed to pay their compensation: Kpodze, Kpotame, Vume, Tefle, Sokpoe, Dabala Junction, Tregui, Badadzi, Havedzi, Adzato, Suipe, Adutor, Horvi-Amedzi, Devegodo, Horvi-Kokoroko, Salo, Galo, Agortoe, Kpenu, Lolito, Floto, Lotame, and New Town.

The rest are Agbatsivi, Kpordui, Alakple, Kodzi, Flohor, Atito, Genui, Azanu, Bomigo, Tumu, Anyanui, Atiteti, Dzita, Atorkor, Whuti, Srogboe, Anloga, Woe, Tegbi, Hovi-Aferdome, Vodza, Keta, Kedzi, Nukpesekope and surrounding villages, serving over 422,160 people.

NewsDay sources in Ghana Water say the compensation package was inbuilt in the contract with Lesico Infrastructure, therefore, the contractor is supposed to compensate the affected communities but Lesico is also passing the back on Ghana Water company.

A representative of Lesico Ghana only identified as Reuben, who spoke to our sister paper in his office at Sakumono in Accra said that it was not Lesico’s responsibility to pay compensation and that, while they were laying the water pipes along the beach so it did not affect the community members, officials and engineers at Ghana Water insisted they laid the pipes through the farms of the community members. Therefore, if there was anybody to pay compensation, Ghana Water must be the entity to do so.

NewsDay can report that for two years, out of the three years the project is supposed to last (from 2021 to approximately 2023), the affected residents have been chasing the two institutions over whose responsibility it was to pay the compensation but to no avail.

Already, NewsDay gathered that the company has received a down payment of about 13 million euros.

Chief Public Relations Manager of Ghana Water Company Limited, Stanley Martey told NewsDay Editor when we reached him on phone that the paper should wait till next week for him to prepare adequately to respond to the issues. NewsDay had however called him since last week Saturday to furnish the paper with responses to the issues.

The project, Lesico admits, is one of few projects it signed in the past through its subsidiary, and it includes planning and execution of an upgrade and construction of a water supply facility for the Ghana national water company, and includes construction and renovation of a water pump facility in the Volta river, construction and renovation of water treatment facilities with a capacity of approx. 40,000 cubic meters per day and laying of approx. 60 kilometres of water transmission and distribution lines. It also includes construction and renovation of water towers, booster stations and ground reservoirs.

Eyal Leshamn, Lesico CEO, stated on its website, when the company secured the contract that:

“We are proud to be partners of this strategic agreement with Ghana government and we consider this a major milestone for Lesico, as a leading player in the water and environment design build domain. In this project, with the help of BlueBird project finance company that specializes in funding of international projects, we have built the funding and insurance package for Ghana. This project will allow us to open a new market, in which we will be able to use all of our capabilities and proficiencies of our different lines of activity. It is also merges with the Group vision and strategy re business expansion in Africa”.

Also, on its website, Lesico stated it was founded in 1969 and is considered one of the leading infrastructure companies in Israel. The company said it has 260 employees in Israel and tens of subcontractors that work with the company for decades.

Keep reading NewsDay as we dig for the contract between Lesico and GWCL and analyse the circumstances surrounding its sign and who is supposed to pay the compensation.

Source: NewsDay Investigation Bureau