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The Sole Commissioner of the Judgment Debt Commission, Justice Yaw Apau yesterday expressed shock to the marrow at a correspondence from the presidency to the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General suggesting compensation payment to some families at Abor for an eight-acre land donated freely fourteen years ago for the expansion of the Abor Senior High School (SHS) in the Volta region. According to Justice Apau, though the presidency made no effort to understand the history about how the land was given out to the school, it went ahead to treat a petition filed to the presidency as though the state owed the families. "I think when the petitioners petitioned the presidency the responses from the presidency, to the AG's office strengthened them to take this action, because when the petition was written, instead of they (presidency) referring the matter to the appropriate institution which is the Lands Commission, to find out whether indeed the state did acquire this land with the intention of paying compensation, nothing was done." The Sole Commissioner made this known when the headmistress of the Abor SHS, Nancy Ekua Osei and the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Keta, Sylvester Edah Tornyavah appeared before him in a petition filed by Vida Hlover for non-payment of compensation over the land. In their testimonies before the commission, they both held the view that they knew little about the issue, and therefore could not tell the commission the history of the issue. He said "The chief director at the chief of staff office just responded and the responses were something like they pity the petitioners as if the state owed them and the state had not paid them so steps should be taken to pay them. "When you have not done anything to find out whether they indeed merited any payment, so that strengthened them. When you see all the letters from the office of the president, ministry of justice, all gave indications that they are entitled to compensation, so the state should speed up and pay them when no investigations had been done to find out whether indeed they were supposed to be paid." Reading a portion of the letter from the presidency on the petition filed by the petitioner, he stated: "I am directed to address this petition for the necessary action." "This letter was addressed to the honourable Minister of Justice. Presidency is indeed sorry for the embarrassment for the long delay to effect payment of the 8 acres more or less a land acquired from Mrs Vida Hlovor." The said letter Justice Apau said also noted that, "The beneficiaries suffered frustrations, inconveniences and general embarrassment over the past 14 years because they could not access any farm land." This stunned the Sole commissioner to express surprise at the basis of the said letter "when there was no history behind this acquisition. And then the presidency is expressing grief for the non-payment?" �So with this response they would be emboldened to come here that the government owes them, I think that is the crux of the whole thing, when the land was donated freely by the predecessors." The MCE for Keta, Mr Tornyavah also told the commission that he got to know about the issue through the deputy Volta regional minister. "Just as the headmistress said I only received a call, the deputy regional minister called me that some people brought the petition but their names were not mentioned to me." He said he never chanced on any document until he received that call and had no knowledge about the issue. "When I received the subpoena I went to the regional lands office, unfortunately I did not meet the regional lands officer, Mr. Tsra, I met one of his deputies who took me to the land valuation division of the lands commission, they scanned through their records in the region but they could not see anything pertaining to Abor land issue so that is all I have for now." Sitting continues today.