GOVERNMENT OF GHANA

MINISTRY OF ROADS AND HIGHWAYS

GHANA HIGHWAY AUTHORITY

ADDENDUM TO THE RESETTLEMENT ACTION PLAN

(RAP) FOR THE

AGONA JUNCTION – ELUBO ROAD PROJECT

(110Km)

Ghana Highway Authority Environmental and Social Management Unit Accra - Ghana

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RECONSTRUCTION OF AGONA JUNCTION – ELUBO ROAD (110KM) ADDENDUM TO THE RESETTLEMENT ACTION PLAN

Introduction The Government of Ghana intends to reconstruct the 110km Agona Junction – Elubo trunk road (Figure 1). The project is being considered under 3 different Lots. Lot 1 involves the realignment of most sections of the first 30km; Lot 2 comprises the rehabilitation (overlay) of the next 60km, while the last 17km to Elubo need to be reconstructed. The Resettlement Action Plan was prepared and disclosed in Ghana in the Ghanaian Times Dailies of September 2, 2009 (Page 28). Public meetings were held to discuss it in Takoradi, Essiama, and Elubo in September 2009. This addendum provides more detail on the following two aspects of the RAP:

The Grievance Redress Mechanism

The communication strategy to respond to the delay in project implementation

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Table of Contents

Figure 1: Location Map: Agona Junction - Elubo Road (115 Km) ........................................................... 3

Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................................ 4

OBJECTIVES AND PRINCIPLES ........................................................................................................................ 5

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS ................................................................................................................. 5

PROCEDURES – VALUATION RELATED GRIEVANCES ..................................................................................... 7

PROCEDURES – NON VALUATION RELATED GRIEVANCES ............................................................................ 7

PROCEDURES - DOCUMENTATION ............................................................................................................... 8

OUTREACH .................................................................................................................................................... 8

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ...................................................................................................................... 9

SAMPLE FORM FOR REGISTERING GRIEVANCES ......................................................................................... 10

COMMUNICATION AND CONSULTATION ................................................................................................... 13

Figure 1: Location Map: Agona Junction - Elubo Road (115 Km)

End of Project

Road - Elubo

Beginning of Project

Road – Agona

Junction

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Abbreviations CSO Civil Society Organization DA District Assembly EMU Environmental Management Unit EPA Environmental Protection Agency GHA Ghana Highway Authority GRC Grievance Redress Committee GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism PAP Project Affected Person

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1.0 GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM 1.1 OBJECTIVES AND PRINCIPLES The objective of the Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) is to:

Provide to Project Affected Peoples (PAPs) avenues for making a complaint or resolving disputes that may arise during the course of land, structure and any assets acquisition, including the process of moving homes;

Ensure that appropriate and mutually acceptable corrective actions are identified and implemented to address complaints;

Verify that complainants are satisfied with outcomes of corrective actions; and to

Avoid the need to resort to judicial proceedings. Procedural principles that guide the grievance procedure are:

Confidentiality: Complaints will be handled in a confidential manner.

Tracking: All complaints will receive a registration number which will be available to complainants and will facilitate the tracking of complaints. PAPs will be given a contact name and telephone number so that they can follow-up on complaints.

Provision of information: PAPs and complainants will be given information on the GRM and next steps.

Accessibility: The GRM will be accessible to all PAPs. The GRM will address the barriers that language and literacy may place on PAP access.

Time-sensitivity: Complaints will be responded to within a specified time-frame. It is preferred that grievances are settled amicably whenever possible.

1.2 INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

1.2.1 Grievance Redress Committee (GRC) The main task of the GRC is to amicably settle complaints presented by the PAPs on compensation issues. However, members of the GRC also serve as key contact points on other grievances. The Grievance Redress Committee comprises of representatives from the Environmental Management Unit, Ghana Highways Authority (EMU-GHA), the Planning and Contracts Divisions of GHA, a nominated representative each from the Ahanta West, Ellembelle and Jomoro District Assemblies, nominated representatives of the PAPs and representatives of NGOs and CBOs working in the project area. In addition, for Elubo a nominated representative from each market group will be included.

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The Committee will meet regularly (at least once a week) during the compensation payment period. After the compensation payment period, the Committee will meet monthly to review received grievances, monitor responses, etc. The Committee will be convened and chaired by the Principal Engineer, EMU-GHA. Table 2: Membership of the Grievance Redress Committee

Name Designation Office Address Telephone Contact

Principal Engineer (or delegated staff)

Environmental Officer (GHA)

Environmental Unit, GHA Head Office, Accra

To be provided

Principal Valuer (or delegated staff)

Valuation Officer (GHA)

Valuation Section, GHA Head Office, Accra

To be provided

District Coordinating Director

West Ahanta

Office of District Chief Executive, Agona Nkwanta

To be provided

District Coordinating Director

Ellembelle

Office of District Chief Executive, Nkroful

To be provided

District Coordinating Director

Jomoro

Office of District Chief Executive, Half Assini

To be provided

To be nominated (a month prior to compensation payment period)

Representative of PAPs

Affected Communities

To be provided

To be nominated (a month prior to compensation payment period)

Representative of PAPs of various market groupings

Elubo

To be provided

To be nominated (a month prior to compensation payment period)

Representatives of NGOs, CBOs, Civil Society Groups

Communities along road corridor

To be provided

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2.0 PROCEDURES – VALUATION RELATED GRIEVANCES

Compensation will only be paid to a PAP after receiving their written consent. A PAP may refuse the compensation value suggested during the valuation process. If the PAP does not agree with the valuation the following steps can be taken:

Step 1: He/She can engage his/her own Valuer (at his/her own cost) to determine the compensation due. The grievances will then be registered with the DA representative to the Grievance Redress Committee (GRC) and a date for a Committee meeting set.

At the GRC meeting, the suggested compensation amount will be presented to the Committee by the DA representative and a settlement will be negotiated between the complainants’ valuer, the Grievance Redress Committee, and the Lands Valuation Board (LVB).

Step 2: If dissatisfied, the complainant can take the case to court as provided for by the

Constitution (starting at the Magistrates Court and ending in the Supreme Court.) Settlement discussions will be documented in the GRC meeting minutes and records will be maintained at the district level and at the EMU-GHA office in Accra in coordination with the Valuation Section.

3.0 PROCEDURES – NON VALUATION RELATED GRIEVANCES

Non-valuation related grievances are channelled to the project team in numerous ways including the presenting complaints to the DA representatives to the GRC, directing complaints to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and writing to the EMU-GHA. Grievances received at the local level by the CSO or PAP representatives to the GRC will be channelled to the DA representative to the GRC. The DA representative will register the grievances and depending on their nature channel them to relevant persons as follows. Grievances related to contractors and civil works Grievances related to contractors and civil works will be raised and addressed at monthly site meetings which are convened and chaired by the Supervision Consultants.

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Site meetings are attended by the relevant contractor, regional administration, district assemblies (including community representatives), and representatives from utility agencies, the EPA, and GHA. The resolution of complaints will be detailed in the minutes of the site meetings which will be forwarded to the EMU-GHA. Complaints raised at site meetings that are not related to the contractors or civil works will be channelled to the EMU-GHA. General grievances Grievances or questions received at any of departments within the Ministry of Roads and Highways will be channelled to the EMU-GHA. General grievances will be addressed by the EMU-GHA or referred to the relevant desk within the Ministry. Relevant correspondence from PAPs will be registered, documented (in complaints forms) with copies maintained at the EMU-GHA. Project-related questions General project-related questions received at the local level will be addressed at the local level, by the CSO, PAP, and/or DA representatives to the GRC. Questions will be registered and documented (in complaints forms). Copies of grievance forms will be forwarded to the EMU-GHA by the DA representative to the GRC.

3.0 PROCEDURES - DOCUMENTATION

The Environmental/Social Officer in Charge of the Project (EMU-GHA) will be charged with monitoring the documentation of grievances at all levels, collating documentation, recording documentation electronically, and preparing reports on grievances (nature, numbers received, numbers addressed, etc.) for review by the Principal Engineer, EMU-GHA.

4.0 OUTREACH

The GRM will be popularized through the communication campaign to be held prior to compensation payment. Telephone numbers and office locations for relevant staff will be publicized and distributed to PAPs through various means.

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5.0 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Principal Engineer, EMU-GHA is charged with managing the GRM. This will include:

Convening and chairing the GRC.

Undertaking quarterly reviews of the GRM. This will include reviewing response and resolution rates, identifying trends and recurring themes, and identifying corrections to procedures.

Implementing any corrections to project policy and procedures.

Providing a bi-annual report on grievances to the World Bank project implementation support team.

The DA representative on the GRC will be charged with receiving, documenting, and reporting grievances within his/her area. This will consist of the following tasks:

Maintaining a log of all grievances received in his/her area.

Publicizing the existence and use of the GRM to PAPs in his/her area. This should be done with the support of other members of the Committee, in particular those from civil society and the PAP representative.

Responding to questions from PAPs about the procedures of the GRM.

Channelling requests for GRC meetings to the Principal Engineer, EMU-GHA.

Providing a regular report to the Principal Engineer, EMU-GHA. Reporting will occur monthly during the compensation payment period (through the GRC) and monthly thereafter (through the GRC and site meetings).

The civil society and PAP representative on the GRC will be charged with disseminating information on the grievance redress procedures, receiving grievances, and reporting grievances to the DA representative. This will consist of the following tasks:

Publicizing the existence and use of the GRM to PAPs in his/her area.

Responding to questions from PAPs about the procedures of the GRM.

Channelling requests for settlement discussion to the DA representative on the GRC.

Providing feedback, as necessary, to PAPs.

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SAMPLE FORM FOR REGISTERING GRIEVANCES

Date of Complaint:

Name of Respondent:

Gender: Male Female (circle one)

Occupation:

Location, District:

Registration Number:

Confidentiality Requested: Yes ____

No ____

Mode of Complaint SMS Website Call Email Office Visit

Nature of complaint: Project information: __

Delays: __

Valuation: __

Environment: __

Corruption: __

Other: __

Complaint details (e.g. background, actions already taken):

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Official Use Only:

Received by:

Date:

First Referral:

Referred to: Date:

Action taken: (must be undertaken within X days)

Investigation/Referral/Owner Valuation Scheduled/Grievance Redress Committee Date Scheduled

Details:

Feedback provided to Complainant:

Second Referral:

Referred to: Date:

Action taken: (must be undertaken within X days)

Investigation/Referral/Owner Valuation Scheduled/Grievance Redress Committee Date Scheduled

Details:

Feedback provided to Complainant:

Other actions/outcomes

Details:

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Final Resolution:

Feedback to Complainant:

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6.0 COMMUNICATION AND CONSULTATION

GHA officials have from time to time been educating the public as to the need to preserve the ROW for all road corridors in the country and the consequences of encroaching/locating structures in the ROW. While these warnings have generally had little effect, they have served to sensitize people on their rights. Adequate consultations have been carried out with the communities along the entire road corridor in April-June and October 2009. During the baseline socio–economic data collection consultations were held with individual PAPs where the impacts of the project and proposed mitigation measures were explained. At consultation discussions, the PAPs individually gave the assurance that they will cooperate to ensure smooth implementation of the project. Issues discussed include:

Proposed road alignment and nature of project;

Effects of project on properties falling within the ROW;

Environmental concerns for flora and fauna;

Effects of project on existing utilities;

Pedestrian-vehicular conflicts during construction and operation;

Historical and cultural areas of concern;

Resettlement and compensation process;

Means of evaluation of compensation; and

Their rights to the Grievance Redress Mechanism It must be stated that at all the durbars ample time was given for PAPs to express their concerns and the discussions were very cordial. The main concerns of PAPs basically centered on prompt and adequate payment of compensation. Given the delays in project implementation, further efforts to communicate with PAPs will be made. Specifically, before the approved compensation values are paid to the PAPs radio announcements will be made on the local FM Radio Stations located in project area of influence to create awareness and ensure that a wider range of people will be reached by the required information. These announcements will also be made daily for ten (10) days to inform the PAPs of the compensation timeline, period, and eligibility. Repeat public hearings/fora when the procurement of the Contractor is finalized and the timing of compensation payments and resettlement is defined.