Tuesday, August 26, 2014

LAND ENCROACHERS DEMAND COMPENSATION

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com
By William Yaw Owusu
Tuesday, August 26, 2014

The Commission of Enquiry investigating the payment of judgement debts yesterday heard how some owners encroach on state lands, sell them and turn around to claim compensation from the government.

The commission was briefed on instance of large parcels of lands at Abeka and Nungua all in Accra where the government attempted to use them for a sports complex but had to abandon it due to encroachment and the same owners are currently chasing for compensation on top of it.

Kwesi Kobea Bentsi-Enchil, Chief Valuer in charge of Compensation schedule at the Lands Valuation Division of the Lands Commission told the commission that there were two acquisitions in respect of the National Sports Complex initiative but all the lands appeared to have vanished.

He said the first acquisition for the complex was the National Olympic Sports Complex Instrument 1975 E.I. 61 amended by the state lands Accra site for National Sports Complex re-designation of purpose Instrument 2000 E.I. 202 at Abeka, Accra due to encroachment while the State Lands Nungua National Sports Complex instrument 1999 E.I. 17 at Nungua, Accra was also acquired.

He said that the Abeka acquisition was 2929.73 acres but the site plan attached the acquisition quoted 2870.60 acres while at Nungua, it covered 745.272 acres adding that “there are a total of 355 claimants for the Abeka acquisition covering freehold, alludial and secondary interest holders. The alludial claims are all in conflict.”

Mr. Bentsi-Enchil said the Abeka acquisition was valued ¢124.513 billion with an attendant administrative charge of ¢9.9billion payable to the Lands Commission while the Nungua acquisition was assessed at a total of ¢20.85billion with an attendant administrative charge of ¢2.8billion payable to the Lands Commission adding that “there are only two claimants: Regimanuel Gray Limited and the Nungua Stool.”

He said full compensation of a claim by the Estate of one Sarfa Mate had been paid including judgement interest debt paid by the Land Valuation Division in the Abeka Acquisition adding “the release was in 2009 and the interest debt was paid in 2012. A total of about GH¢1.5million was paid.”

“We can say that the Abeka acquisition is partially utilized with regards to the re-designation because evidence on our file showed that the SHC was allocated about 1,100 acres but they have been able to develop only 310 acres. As to whether they have title issued to them I am not aware.”

He said the Nungua acquisition still remained a National Sports Complex and no decision had been taken to be re-designated adding that “officially, encroachment is not known in the Nungua acquisition but privately I learnt it’s all been developed.”

Sole-Commissioner Justice Yaw Apau then remarked that “it started in Abeka, Nungua and now we are in Prampram for this same sports complex project. Very soon the project will be pushed to Sogakope due to encroachment. These land owners encroach and turn around to claim huge sums as compensation.”

Earlier, Dr. Mark Nii Akwei Ankrah, Managing Director of State Housing Company (SHC) had told the commission that the SHC had not seen any E.I. covering the Abeka acquisition and said they had suspended further grants of title.

“I cannot tell whether there was an enclave for the SHC or because the project did not come off, the land was given to SHC to handle,” he said, adding “we don’t have the root of title and there is no head lease.”
“Greater part of the land has been encroached and sold by the alludial owners,” he added.

Later Phillip Lartey, from Urban Roads assisted by Josephine Manu, a Legal Officer at the Ministry of Roads and Highways tendered in evidence certificates pertaining to Accra city road projects undertaken by Construction Pioneers (CP) in the 1990s.

He said there were 133 certificates all relating to CP but they were able to recover 124 and added that since it was a negotiated contract there was no tender.

He said the certificates were part of the 94million Euros that the government had to pay controversially to CP.



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