CHIEF CONTRADICTS VOLTA BASIN CLAIMANTS

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

The Omanhene of Kukuom Traditional Area in the Brong Ahafo Region has said most of the applications put in by some claimants in the Volta Basin Flooded Area are supposed to be stool lands instead of family/clan lands.

The Commission of Enquiry investigating the payments of judgement debts in the past week has been interrogating people who put in claims to collect huge sums following the construction of the Akosombo Dam in the 1960s and in each case witnesses have insisted that the lands were family land.

Stool lands

However, Nana Amoako Ababio known by his stool name Osahene Kwaku Aterkyi II who is a chartered valuer and surveyor yesterday pointed to Sole-Commissioner Justice Yaw Apau that land tenure systems of most of the claimants made it difficult for them to testify that they made the made the claims on behalf of families.

He testified that he was with the then Lands Department now Land Commission in the 1970s when claims for compensation started flooding the Volta River Authority (VRA) and had extensive knowledge about the government’s handling of the Volta Basin flooded areas.

Individual claims

When asked by Dometi Kofi Sorpkor the commission’s counsel whether some of the claimants who sub-divided the lands and claimed compensation in their names were entitled to the amounts, Nana Ababio said he was compiling a document to the commission for verification.

“Many of the Akan and Guan areas have stool lands,” he said adding there were inaccuracies in most of the acreage put in as claim because there were no detailed plans for most of the flooded areas.

He said the government paid compensation for a greater number of communities affected by the floods and said a lot of the communities were resettled, given communal lands and given compensation for crops destroyed.

Nana Ababio recommended to the government to strictly study the various claims to avoid double payment of compensation and said there should be a distinction between land owners and alludial owners.

Ntuaboma

Nana Adade Bekoe II of Ntuaboma who claims to be  a divisional chief under the Kwahu paramouncy also testified and insisted the 8121.69 acres claimed belonged to his family called Aboi.

When pointed out to him by Justice Apau that a lawyer called Kwame Mensah put in claim on behalf of the family in the 1970s and were paid, the witness said he was not aware.

He said he received a total of GH¢1.061,720.54 as compensation even though documents at the commission showed he took GH¢722,287.04.

Tokoroano

Nana Amatakyi, Odikro of Tokoroano which he said was Kyidom of Krachi Traditional Council told the commission that they were bought from Kianan lands and resettled at Tokoroano.

He said six Odikros put in the about 50,000 acres of claim and said he was the one who collected GH¢2.176,426.60 but could not produce and power-of-attorney before the commission even though, records showed he was paid GH¢1.805,604.11.

Nkomi

Godfred Asaim Niachire representative of Nana Efede from Nkomi also testified and said he continued with the process for the claim of 70,123.55 acres when the chief died.

He said Nana Nfede had collected GH¢75,874 before his death and the total claim he had received for the Gyamoae Clan was GH¢3.185,016.65 but claimed that the documents were destroyed in  a lorry accident.

He said apart from some developmental projects, they had set aside some funds to put up a shrine house.

Dikoman

Nana Twerefuor Tim IV of Dikoman said they were resettled at Empaemu in the Kwahu South District from Kete Krachi but claimed he owed allegiance to the Asantehene.

He said the land belonged to him and his family and he was elected to pursue the claim 10,400 acres of land but did not have a power of attorney to tender in evidence.

He said he receive 530,896.77 and complained bitterly about government neglect of the people of Empaemu where he said was affecting every resident Bilharzias due to the use of the Afram river.

GH¢138million

Cabinet in July 2008 approved a consolidated amount of compensation totaling GH¢138million for various stools/families in Pai, Apaaso, Makango, Ahmandi and Kete Krachi Traditional Areas and about 57 groups were said to have benefited from the amount.

Records at the commission revealed that GH¢71million has been paid so far to the various claimants and the disbursement of the remaining GH¢67million has been put on hold to enable the government deal with discrepancies in the payments.

Some of the witnesses appearing before the Sole-Commissioner have been tendering in evidence site plans that did not have dates embossed but had purportedly used the same documents to claim the amounts from the Lands Commission.

Justice Apau even expressed shock at how the Lands Commission could have proceeded to order the release of the various amounts to the claimants based on the documents the witnesses are tendering before the commission.

Furthermore, the Court of Appeal judge did not understand why communities that were resettled by the government in the 1960s, given communal lands and paid compensation for crops destroyed by the Volta River floods could turn around to claim cash compensation almost 50 years down the land.

Asetena Mensah factor

All the witnesses have been telling the commission that one Nana Asetena Mensah, a leader in the communities in Krachi, was the one who had commissioned Kwadwo Ababio & Co, a consultant and surveyors to survey the submerged area out of which the individual plotting were done.

Justice Apau has made it clear that Nana Asetena Mensah never came forward to make any claims. Rather, he delegated the Krachiwura who he said had no stake in the lands to lead the chase for compensation.