|
Abonnema
Wharf Landlords Smile…As
RSG Commences Payment For
Demolished Properties
By Polycarp Nwaeke
It was cheering news for
owners of property at
Abonnema Wharf on Thursday
May 17 as the Rivers State
Government announced it has
commenced payment of
compensation for properties
demolished there in the
course of its urban renewal
programme.
The honourable commissioner
for Urban Development, Dr.
Tammy Danagogo who disclosed
this while interacting with
the Abonnema Wharf
Landlords, tenants and Press
at the Ministry of Justices,
Auditorium said everybody
who owned property there
would be considered for
compensation, stressing that
the exercise would be
transparent.
He told the gathering that
consultants carried out
various valuations of the
destroyed properties before
government arrived at the
issue of paying
compensation, adding that
compensation would be based
on the valuation.
To further ensure
transparency, the Hon
Commissioner said two
committees,
Verification/Payment
Committee and Appeals
Supervisory committee had
been set up to handle the
exercise.
While the
verification/payment
committee, would verify
claims and make payments,
the Appeals/Supervisory
Committee would handle
complaints from property
owners in the course of
paying compensation.
Although, Government he
said, was eager to take off
with its urban renewal
exercise to provide better
housing for its citizens, it
will however be after every
complaint about payment is
disposed of successfully.
In her speech, the Hon
Commissioner for
Information, Ibim Semenatari
thanked tenants and
landlords of Abonnema Wharf
for their patience and
endurance for the past two
years, saying they are
partners in progress with
the state government.
She told them that Rivers
citizens do not deserve to
live in shanties, stressing
that the demolition was
carried out to ensure better
life and environment for
them.
Although there were some
protests by some property
owners on the modalities to
be used in making the
payments, majority of the
landlords agreed that
government should go ahead
with the payment and carry
on with its urban renewal
programme, which many of
them said, they
supported.###
|
