ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the implications of the Chinese funding and construction of Bui Dam project and the emerging social and environmental governance issues. It discusses the findings obtained in relation to accessing natural resources and livelihood changes/impacts resulting from the social and environmental governance arrangements of the project. The chapter presents a description of the roles played by the different stakeholders, from international level to local level, in the construction of the Bui hydroelectric dam and in planning and implementation of resettlement, as well as in addressing challenges arising from the project execution. The Chinese construction firm Sinohydro built the dam as an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract. In the case of Bui, Sinohydro had to abide by Ghanaian labour laws, which meant inter alia allowing the formation of a union under the 2003 Labour Act. A major social issue emerging from the construction of Bui Dam is the re-alignment and breakdown in social structure of pre-dam construction society.
