Lands Valuation Board denies knowledge of judgement debt payment
Mr Kwame Poku Boah, Counsel for the Lands Valuation Board, on Wednesday told the Judgement Debt Commission that the Attorney-General’s Department failed to inform his outfit of the payment of Ghc 27 million on stool land.
Nana Owusu Akyaw Prempeh 11, Chief of Worakesi, in the Ashanti Region, was paid GHc27 million in 2008 as payment on some 107 acres of land released to the then colonial government in 1943.
He told the Sole Commissioner, Justice Yaw Appau, that although, the Board was fully involved in the case, the Department was not informed of the payment, adding that he got to know of the payment recently.
Mr Poku Boah said that the Lands Valuation Board did not even have any documentation covering the payment of the amount to Nana Prempeh 11.
Mr Kusi Bentsil-Enstill, Chief Valuer, Lands Valuation Board/Division, said he had sighted correspondence between the Board and the then Minister of Lands, Professor Kassim Kasanga indicating that the Worakesi Stool should not receive any compensation since Government received the 107 acres of land free of charge.
Justice Appau expressed misgivings about the activities of the then Attorney-General and wondered why such money was paid without the notification of the Lands valuation Board/Division, which was a chief party in the case.
He wondered why the Lands Valuation Board was kept in the dark although they were in charge of state lands.
On Monday May 20, Nana Owusu Akyaw Premepeh 11, who appeared before the Commissioner, admitted that the Traditional Authority of his area had been paid GHc27 million for lands acquired by the colonial government in 1943.
He said the land was acquired by government free of cost with the intention of building a hospital on it.
However, government failed to use the land and thereby handed it over to the then State Housing Corporation (STC) instead of giving it back to the stool.
The STC also gave part of the land to the Police Service for the construction of barracks while the rest was used to put up buildings for sale without compensating to the stool, which eventually resulted in filing of the law suit by the Traditional Authority.
Source: GNA