Perceptions of people in host communities on the implementation of dam-induced involuntary resettlement programme in the Global South: The case of Bui Dam in Ghana

Abstract

Hydro-dams in the Global South have become pivotal to accelerating socio-economic development and promoting the industrialisation drive through the supply of energy. The implementation of hydro-dam projects usually comes with involuntary resettlements. Such involuntary resettlements have consequences for those displaced and people in the host communities receiving the displaced for their integration. While existing studies focus on the planning phase of resettlement programmes, particularly, how to identify the hosts in the resettlement planning frameworks, little attention is given to the hosts during resettlement implementation. This study seeks to investigate the implementation processes, rules and regulations of dam-induced involuntary resettlement (DIIR) programmes and how they affect the socio-cultural dimensions of the life of the hosts, using the case of the Bui Dam in Ghana. The study used the impoverishment risk and reconstruction theory to do so. The study found that the implementation processes of the DIIR programme are fraught with shortcomings in terms of non-compliance with local planning laws, inadequate compensation and the Resettlement Planning Framework’s failure to capture the hosts during its implementation. It shows contrasting findings in the literature, with only Ghanaian laws applied to regulate the implementation of the Bui Dam resettlement programme without international laws despite the hybrid financing sources. It furthers the argument in the literature that a successful implementation of a DIIR programme is not only limited to international and national legal frameworks but should consider socio-cultural conditions and values of a community and country. We, therefore, recommend that people-based and place-based policies are adopted during the implementation of the DIIR programme.