Govt To Return 1st Batch Of Seized Assets

Some properties seized under previous governments are to be released to their owners but government says it is treading cautiously in order not to incur any expenses in releasing the seized properties.

Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Papa Owusu Ankomah said it?s been tough working out the details for the release of the assets, especially since the status of some of the properties, which are companies have changed.

Those assets include the Tata Breweries owned by Joshua Siaw; and International Tobacco owned by a prominent businessman, B.A Mensah. The status of Tata breweries has now changed to Ghana Breweries and International Tobacco is now British American Tobacco.

Papa Ankomah told JoyFM earlier today that the first batch of confiscated assets would be returned to their original owners by the end of the month but he said it will take some time before the process is completed because of the peculiar nature of some of the assets.

''Cabinet has approved in principle that all confiscated assets should be returned to their original owners but we should not lose sight of the fact that there are categories of confiscated assets.''

''There is a complication in respect certain assets that have been transferred. Some have shareowners, the companies have changed hands and have been transformed substantially so if you are deconfiscating such an asset, how do you go about it? The principle that government has adopted is that it should not incur any expenditure by reason of the deconfiscation.''

The son of JK Siaw, owner of Tata Breweries however says the process of releasing the seized assets has been very slow and ought to be reviewed. CUE: ''The process is rather too slow for our liking'', he said.

''I feel some people know the truth but are not trying to act. If what happens on the political platforms are transformed into reality, by now, the confiscated assets would have been returned to everybody.''

Sports administrator Herbert Mensah, who at one time was the director of his fathers company, International Tobacco said the family has over the past 15 years called for a return of their property, unsuccessfully.