Press Releases
Serious Financial Fraud in the cash compensation
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Jun 22, 2008 - 11:13:56 AM

The Executive Committee of the Manasir Community

                                           People Affected by Merowe Dam    

Important Communiqu�

  Serious Financial Fraud in the cash compensation

  of the citizens affected by Merowe dam

                Billions of Sudanese pounds (0ld currency rate) are fraudulently paid out                                                  

                from the compensation of the affected Manasir people. The crime is still

                going on in a serious and alarming magnitude.

          The Executive Committee of The Manasir Community (ECM) (the largest tribal group of the three communities affected by Merowe Dam) has been receiving an alarming reports about numerous and recurrent incidences of criminal cases of fraud which have taken place over the last eleven months. The perpetrators, some of them are known to the ECM have been deliberately and purposely paid out the first installments of compensation of many Manasir persons by fraud authorizations issued by some lawyers. The victims are the Manasir people who decided to remain in their lands beside the Nile banks and not to move to any other resettlement locations. The result of (ECM) investigations has revealed deliberate and an orchestrated procedures followed by the dam authority in paying compensations to ensure the easiness of fraudulence. E.g. the issuing of identity cards is not thoroughly examined; the suspects who have been arrested were instantly released with trivial petty bail. Despite the presence of stark material evidences against the suspects, no any official investigations or trial in any case has taken place.   Out of its investigation over the last few weeks, ECM concluded that the whole affair is an organized crime sponsored by The Dam authority as wicked mean to deprive the lawfully entitled persons from their compensation and to use this fraudulent procedures as a proof to claim that the Manasir have received their compensation and consequently should leave their ancestors land. This land is the main target of Merowe dam authority. There are many evidences which make the (ECM) suspect the dam authority as an accomplice behind these frauds and forgery. Part of these is the following:--

1 / The Dam Authority has on numerous prior occasions made it clear to the public that it does not acknowledge the Manasir right to be resettled in their lands around the reservoir . The dam authority also does not acknowledge the agreement which the Federal Government has signed with the Manasir in which the Government not only confirmed the right of the Manasir to remain in their lands, but the Federal Government undertakes to resettle Manasir around the reservoir at mutually agreed sites. Worth noting is that the said agreement was backed by a series of presidential decrees.  

2 / The Dam Authority used its exceptional powers and its exemption from any of the countries laws not only to impede the implementation of the agreement, but also to insist on implementing its own resettlement projects in desert locations against the Manasir�s will. No wonder therefore, its resettlement projects remained almost empty because the overwhelming majority(over 70%) of the Manasir  insists to remain in their lands around the Nile banks. All fouls and tricky measures by the dam authority to make Manasir move to the desert have failed.

3 / The dam authority stipulates that any affected Manasir person who wishes to receive the fist installment of his compensation for his date trees and other plantations should sign to  relinquish ownership of the land, house and other properties and belongings to the dam authority even if they are not affected by inundation. As the Manasir position is not to relinquish the land, the majority of the Manasir refused to receive compensations. Given this unprecedented failure and the determination of the Manasir not to move, the dam authority is alleged to have encouraged this enormous and wide range scale fraud in order cover the whole list of names entitled to compensation. The aim of the dam authority is to pay out money to individuals with fraudulent identity documents carrying true names of the affected persons so that it could then be able to claim that all the Manasir have received compensation and consequently agreed to leave their lands around the upcoming reservoir. Under such pretext the dam authority is expected to use force afterwards to evict the Manasir from their lands .The dam authority knows that most of the victims will not be aware that such crime has been committed in their names, and even if they know, they would not be able to report police cases, or to follow the litigation for their lack of money and time.  

Another strange incidence that proves the dam authority ill-intention is that it was able to evict some Manasir families by force from their lands whereas the dam authority knows very well from the studies that the land of these individual will never be inundated or affected by the dam water. This eviction was justified under the pretext that they have relinquished their land to the dam authority on their own will.

   For all that is mentioned above, the (ECM) appeal to all the officials concerned in the ministries of Just, Interior, The Government of The River Nile State and the Bar Association to act promptly by taking measures and means to put an end to the on going criminal fraud and to form a committee for fact-finding to probe the case and give recommendations on how to settle the case completely in a short time. The case is urgent, as it relates to the use of public money and to the rights of affected people who are exceedingly worried not only of losing their rights, but also be subjected to forced eviction.

 The ECM urges all officials concerned to issue statement confirming to the victims that their rights will be protected and that they will not be subjected to forced eviction.

The ECM also draws the attention of the project financiers that their money is being used frequently and in corrupted way by the dam authority to breed conflict and violence in the area

 The ECM has enough documents and witnesses to attest to all that is mentioned in this communiqu� and it is ready to present them before any investigation committee. It worth mentioning that copies of this communiqu� in Arabic have been delivered to ten Arabic newspapers and many journalists and column editors but they all could not publish it, because of the security censorship which doesn�t allow newspaper to publish any item concerning the affected people.  Copies of the Arabic communiqu� have also been delivered to each of the minister of Justice, the Interior, and the governor of River Nile State and the bar association.   

 The Executive Committee of the Manasir Community

 Affected by Merowe Dam.

Date:   21/6/2008