The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice has expressed worry about the rising cases of land compensation claims against the state, with some claimants demanding up to GH¢500 million per case.
Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine said preliminary assessments of the claims estimate liabilities running into billions of Ghana cedis.
Briefing the Vice-President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, during a working visit to the ministry in Accra, the Attorney-General said he had since directed the Solicitor-General to prepare a comprehensive brief for the President on the scale of the land compensation claims pending at the court.
He said the claimants had pulled up documents with which they argued that compensation had not been paid to them.
Dr Ayine cautioned that if care was not taken, the land compensation cases could pose a far more serious fiscal risk.
The claimants frequently rely on archival documents to argue that compensation for lands acquired during the colonial era was never paid, and courts — sometimes up to the Supreme Court — have ruled in their favour, the Attorney-General stated.
The Vice-President’s visit formed part of a broader engagement with key ministries to better understand their operational challenges and identify areas requiring government support.
She was accompanied by the Chief of Staff at the Vice-President’s Office, Alex Percival Segbefia, and other officials.
With the minister were the Deputy Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, as well as management, staff, and heads of agencies under the ministry.
No plea Dr Ayine rejected claims that his office had entered into any plea or negotiations with individuals linked to the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) cases.
Addressing concerns raised in some media reports, he disclosed that 16 dockets related to the ORAL cases were currently under critical review in collaboration with investigative agencies.
We have 16 dockets under review, and these will go through a process of critical scrutiny.Where we identify loopholes in the investigations, we will ask the investigative authorities to provide additional evidence, Dr Ayine said.
He stressed that none of the dockets submitted to his office had been compromised in any way. Dr Ayine cited the ongoing National Service Secretariat prosecution as an example and assured Ghanaians that individuals found culpable would be held accountable under the law.
