Citizens of Sorogbeima and Makpele chiefdoms, now resident in the United States of America and United Kingdom, have issued a statement rejecting the agreement between Pujehun district and Aristeus Palm Oil Company. The foreign agribusiness company has concession on a 47,567-hectare arable land in Sorogbema chiefdom, according to a campaign group Green Scenery while West Africa Agriculture Number 2 Ltd has 30,700 hectares.
The concerns citizens in the Diaspora say “an agreement of this nature will not consummate without proper legal representations on both sides. But that was not the case”. They argue that Aristeus had full legal representation while the people were left to fend for themselves.
The statement alleges that the “poor people” were falsely hoodwinked into believing that they were being represented when they merely appended their signatures to a Memorandum of Understanding.
“And in fact, the document has now turned out to be a legally binding Land Lease Agreement. This is the consensus of all those who were lured into signing the document.”
They warn thus: “While we, in the Diaspora from the two Chiefdoms respect our relatives in both Sorogbeima and Makpele chiefdoms, it is also our collective responsibilities to point out to them the arm’s length of this land deal Agreement”.
They say the agreement clearly spelled out that the entire leased land will be under the dominion and control of the Aristeus Palm Oil and as such, at the company’s discretion when necessary, the people may be asked to vacate the area of the land they occupy for the company to use.
“We strongly object to that. The livelihood of our people touches and concerns their Land. They have lived, farmed and used their Land for other activities since thence. As a result, we cannot sit by, for anyone to just uproot them without any clear understanding”, they warned.
The Pujehun descendants also claim that “the compensation offered by Aristeus Palm Oil per hectare of land is inadequate. Their developmental obligation for the area is not clearly in sync with expectations. We, along with our people, expect (a) building of schools (b) building of hospitals (c) construction of roads (d) drinkable water supply (e) electricity supply etc.”
In April 2013 a factsheet on large-scale agri-investments in Pujehun District put together by Green Scenery, a local non-governmental organisation, claims that “vague terms dominate” the agreements.
“The use of the land in corresponding articles is defined as such…for commercial agriculture and ancillary industries, including but not limited to agri-processing and logistics (article 2.4 Makpele and Sorogbema chiefdoms)”, the group says.
Green Scenery also says there is need for the government to commission studies on the many issues they and other international organizations have raised.
“A moratorium will give space and time to the government to design policies, regulations, monitoring mechanisms and structures that will ensure safeguards for the communities and protect the state from unsecured revenue generation”, the campaign group warns.
(C) Politico 01/08/13
