The Minister for Roads and Highways, Governs Kwame Agbodza, says the government is considering reporting two quantity surveyors to theEconomic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) over alleged attempts to inflate compensation claims for properties affected by road projects.

Agbodza alleged that some surveyors approach people whose properties are affected by government projects and persuade them to reject official valuations, promising to secure compensation several times higher than the amounts assessed by state agencies.

“We are looking at the possibility of reporting two of those people to EOCO for investigation,” he said.

The minister said the practice was costing the state money and contributing to delays in the implementation of road projects.

“So if you are part of those people, anytime we do valuation, you tell people don’t accept it, we’ll get you four times, and then you delay the project, very soon EOCO will be at your door,” he said.

Agbodza was speaking during an inspection of asphalt works on a two-kilometre access road linking Feyiase to the Sewua Regional Hospital in the Ashanti Region.

He urged owners of properties affected by road projects to rely on valuations conducted by authorised government agencies rather than engage external surveyors to renegotiate compensation.

According to the minister, some individuals approach project-affected persons after government officials have completed their assessments and encourage them to reject the amounts offered.

“Some people in our country approach those people and tell them not to accept the values that are being given to you. We can give you four, five, six times the amount that the government is offering you,” he said.

He said some affected persons were subsequently encouraged to seek court injunctions against road projects, further delaying construction.

“As a result, we have lost so much money, and sometimes the projects are delayed needlessly because of the behaviour of some of these people,” Agbodza said.

The minister questioned how private surveyors could arrive at valuations substantially higher than assessments conducted by surveyors working with government agencies including the Ghana Highway Authority and the Department of Urban Roads.

“The people who value these properties from the Ghana Highway Authority, Urban Roads and others are the same surveyors; they went to the same school. How come when they finish their evaluation, somebody comes and tells the project-affected people, ‘I can get you four times that amount of money?’” he asked.

Agbodza said the government would continue to compensate property owners whose properties are affected by road projects in accordance with the law.

He thanked project-affected persons who had cooperated with the government during compensation processes for the Accra-Kumasi Expressway and other road projects.

He said the issue was not confined to the Ashanti Region but also occurred in Accra and other parts of the country.