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BUT FOR the alertness and intervention of the Land Valuation Division (LVD) of the Lands Commission, the state would have paid compensation in excess of GH�114,184.64 to a compensation claimant, the Ntwea Family of the Western region. This revelation was made known by the deputy chief valuer, Mrs. Theodora Mends who appeared before the Judgment Debt Commission chaired by Justice Yaw Apau pertaining to the compensation payment of GH�4,400,000.00 on 185.30 acres of land to the said family in 2012. The excess amount was realized after Gold Street Real Estate Consult, a private firm had evaluated a land government had acquired under Executive Instrument (EI35) in November, 10 2011 for Bulk Oil Storage Transportation (BOST) Company Limited. When it was put to her by Counsel of the Commission, Kofi Dometi Sokpor whether after the valuation by the Gold Street Real Estate Consult her division did not query the difference between their valuation and that of the Gold Street Real Estate Consult which was in excess of GH�114,184.64, she responded in the affirmative. �My Lord, when a claim is put in for compensation and the firm representing the claimant brings in the evaluation, the division also carries out an independent valuation and when there are differences in value, we invite the consultant to the claimant to come for us to sit down and negotiate. We reconcile differences and agree on a figure,� she explained. According to her, when the valuation was brought by the firm, �the division authorized its office in the Western region where the land is situated to carry out evaluation to forward it to the head office for review and approval and through that process we came out with a value of the land. The value was GH�4,400,000.00� Mrs. Mends, touching on the role of the private firm which surveyed the land for the claimant intimated to the commission that, �after the EI is published the claimant also puts in a claim and the claim comes with evaluation so this firm was representing the claimants so they also submitted a valuation to back their claim for a compensation.� Touching on whether the amount was paid, she replied, �My Lord to the knowledge of the division, BOST brought in cheques for payment for the compensation which was forwarded to the firm which represented the claimant.� Asked by counsel whether BOST paid the compensation in the matter, she responded in the affirmative. �My Lord they were paid in three tranches. My Lord I can�t give the date, though I have seen a copy of the receipt of the cheque on the file and I�m sorry I do not have the file with me.� Justice Apau, however, stated that the amount was paid in three tranches, though two of them including the administrative charges and the fees of the surveyors were in addition to the first tranche payment of GH�2m, thereafter another GH�2m paid. Commenting on the splitting of an amount of GH�800,000.00 which represented the administrative charges and surveyor fee, the deputy chief valuer said, �This is usually done so that because the total amount is not coming to the division, we deem it proper to issue separate cheques, so that the consultant can have his cheques separate from the LVD�s cheque so that we don�t have to pay it into our account before we will have to issue another cheque since it was coming directly from BOST.� Mrs. Mends was in the company of the chief valuer, Kwesi Bentsi Enchill. Proceedings of the commission stand adjourned to today, Wednesday, May 7, 2014.