VRA T3 Will Never Work Till gods Are Pacified - Chiefs, Elders

The chiefs and elders of 3 communities who own the lands for the Aboadze Thermal Plant in the Western Region say the T-3 power plant generators will never produce power again until the gods in the area are pacified. The chiefs are also demanding immediate payment of compensation for the lands which government acquired for the project before they reverse the evil spells their gods have invoked on the operations of the Volta River Authority (VRA) at Aboadze. The T-3 combined cycle plant is a $256m power generation project funded by the Canadian government and managed by the VRA and uses both light crude oil and gas for power generation. The T-1 and T-2 of the Aboadze Thermal Station of the VRA are currently generating 340 megawatts of power while the T-3 is expected to generate 132 megawatts at full capacity. In 1994, Government under President Rawlings acquired 420 acres of land owned by the three chiefs. Joy News correspondent Kwaku Owusu Peprah who spoke to an elder of the communities, revealed there has not been specific payments for the lands acquired several years ago. The elder who is the secretary to the Stool Lands Management Committee also revealed government has also acquired 172 acres more to extend the project. Although commitment fees have been paid for this land, he says government has not performed the necessary cultural rites. "We have a god over there and that area there is a very big stream so after they have constructed their T-3 and the president came to inaugurate the area, two months later the whole thing went off. We are saying that it is because they did not perform the rite. He (god) is angry", he explained. He revealed the rites would include a sheep, a goat and a well-decorated house with running water. Barely two months after President John Mahama inaugurated the facility, it was shut down in June due to a fault.The VRA has said the T3 need engineering and re-modification. But the elder insists "there is culture, they can bring all the best engineers in the whole world, this machine will never work until they perform the rites and they pay the money for the family". The compensation for the two land acquistions, he says, will amount to Ghc 23 billion.