Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com
By
William Yaw Owusu
Thursday, July 10 2014
The Lands Commission has said claimants are hotly
pursuing them since news broke that the Carmichael family had received a
compensation of GH¢3.2 million and GH¢530,628.44 ($2.4million) in respect of
the Aveyime lands acquired by the government in the 1970s.
The Commission of Enquiry investigating the payment
of judgement debts heard how the government in 2009 released the amount to the
Carmichael family who owned the Messrs Bator Agricultural Industry Limited
cattle ranch, leaving out the indigenous claimants.
Conflict
resolution
The Chief Valuer in charge of compensation at the
Valuation Division of the Lands Commission Kwesi Kobea Bentsi-Enchil told
Sole-Commissioner Justice Yaw Apau yesterday that although the claimants are hotly pursuing them, “we
always refer to them that until they resolve their conflict, we cannot process
their claims any further.”
He said there are 11 claimants in total out of which
the Carmichael family was paid and added that “Traditionally, the office has
held back all claims until all conflicts are resolved to make sure that we do
not stray into other areas and also that the office will not be cited for
negligence in any form.”
Give-and-take
Justice
Apau: The indigenous claimants have not been paid but the
foreigner has been paid?
Witness:
That is what is on the record.
Dometi
Kofi Sorkpor (Counsel for Judgement Debt Commission):
Those who have not been paid. Do they pester the Lands Commission with their
claims?
Witness:
They hotly pursue us.
Documents available to the commission indicated that
the Carmichael land was acquired in 1976 and it was in 1978 that they put in a
claim for compensation, attaching the valuation report and the compensation had
been assessed at ¢330,000.
Unexpired
lease
When Justice Apau asked if what the government paid
was the unexpired lease, the Chief Valuer said “The basis for any payment would
have been the unexpired lease but I am not sure of the basis for whatever was
concluded. We can only equate the amount paid to the unexpired lease.”
Probed further if after the expiration of the lease,
the original owners could claim compensation, Mr. Bentsi-Enchil said “they
claimed the reversionary freehold interest.”
“Obviously they are not aware of the professional
implications. They are thinking that they are going to be paid compensation for
everything but the assessment will break it down to respective interests which
really form the basis for the compensation assessment and all to be paid
concurrently.”
He said he was unsure if the overall land acquired
had been valued but added that “because Messrs Bator Agricultural Industry
Limited’s was valued, the non values related to the time is available on file
to form a basis for taking off claim assessments and all of that.”
“In the present stage, eight claims are in conflict.
If they have to resolve their claims, the best approach is for them to resurvey
their sites. And a resurvey may change the whole composition of this plotting
and therefore, it estops the office from processing conflict-free areas and
paying now.”
Asked if there had not been any encroachment on the
land Mr. Bentsi-Enchil said “encroachment cannot be overruled but that is not
the prerogative of my office. It is up to the beneficiary of the acquisition
whoever was acquired for to protect the land.”
“Indeed in a whole lot of acquisitions, they have
been encroached invariably by the same original owners.”
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