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Litigations cause delays in
payments on lands acquired by government
Somanya (E/R), Dec. 12, Ghanadot/GNA - The Team Leader of
the Inventory Task Force of the Land Administration Project
(LAP), Mr Stephen Kumadoh, says it is not a deliberate ploy
by government to refuse to pay or to delay paying
compensations for lands it acquired.
He said there were many instances where the state was ready
to retire the monies owed the landowners but litigations
among the recipients or contesting owners for the same plot
of land compelled it to lodge the money in suspense
accounts.
Responding to concerns by some landowners at a forum
organized by the LAP at Somanya on Tuesday, Mr Kumadoh
appealed to families applying for compensations to present a
unified stance when making their claims.
He warned against family members or their surrogates
resorting to encroaching onland already acquired and that
state agencies in charge of land issues would not shirk
their duty in ensuring that the state's interests were
protected.
Mr Kumadoh said whether the state fully paid compensation or
otherwise, once acquired, the state reserved a bona fide
interest in the land and must not be encroached upon.
In addition, he said, the state reserved the right to put
such lands to whatever use it felt feasible in the interest
of the people.
The forum is a strategy being employed by the LAP to present
findings of an inventory it had taken of government acquired
and occupied lands in four districts in the Eastern Region
under a pilot project that is part of an on-going reform in
the land sector.
Aside the Yilo Krobo District, there is an on-going
inventory in the Manya Krobo, Birim South and the
Suhum-Kraboa-Coaltar districts and the project is expected
to be replicated in the remaining districts.
The essence of the inventory is to create a database of
state lands, ascertain how these lands have been put to use,
pay the necessary compensation where needed or revert part
of the land that the state might no longer be keen on.
It was realized that a number of state lands in the Yilo
Krobo District and situated at Somanya and Klo-Agogo have
been encroached upon.
For instance, nearly 20 acres of the 105 acres of land
earmarked for an assembly farm had been taken over by
encroachers in Somanya.
Other state lands reeling under pressure from private
developers include the land proposed for the Somanya sports
stadium and some plots belonging to the Klo-Agogo Secondary
School.
Participants at the forum agreed on the need for the state
to protect its interest in the acquired lands including
reserving the right to demolish the affected structures.
They also demanded prompt compensations with respect to
lands the state acquired to forestall the occurrence of some
of the problems.
They said default by government in making prompt payments
for acquired lands often compelled the original owners to
resort to selling out the land to private developers.
The Acting Executive Secretary of the Land Valuation Board (LVB),
Mr Bafour Darkwa, said he was hopeful that the forum would
enrich the on-going land reform programme by means of a
frank exchange between the state and the landowners.
The Konor of Yilo Krobo, Nene Dawutey Ologo, commended the
LAP for the initiative and tasked them to tap the expertise
of local authorities and landowners to tackle issue of land
acquisition in the country more cogently.
GNA
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