Previous Story
Only $13M left in land compensation fund
|
Posted on May 03 2005
Only $13 million remains of the Marianas Public Lands Authority’s $40-million land compensation fund.
MPLA had disbursed nearly $7 million of the funds to land compensation claimants as of Feb. 22, 2005.
This week, the agency is reportedly expected to release $4.41 million to the heirs of Rita Kaipat, pursuant to MPLA’s recently signed settlement agreement with the estate. This will compensate the family for a 6,000-sq.m. property that the government took years ago and now forms part of Chalan Pale Arnold or Middle Road.
Still another $3.45 million is being reserved for the payment of the controversial Malite Estate land compensation.
The two accounts alone comprise more than a quarter of the $28 million reserved for land compensation.
Yesterday, MPLA public information officer Ed Arriola Jr. explained that, although Public Law 13-17 authorized MPLA and the Commonwealth Development Authority to incur a $40-million public debt for the settlement of land compensation claims, only $28 million of this amount could actually be used for land compensation payments.
Some $9.1 million was allocated for the Susupe adult prison project, while another $1.9 million was set aside for interim financing. The rest of the fund was budgeted for underwriter fees, amounting to $584,000, and issuance costs, including bond counsel fees, amounting $415,309.
“[Previous reports] were deceiving because they made people thought that we had $40 million. But there were deductions made to that. Ultimately, we had only $28 million to work with,” said Arriola.
MPLA offers compensation to landowners whose private properties were acquired for public purposes, such as road construction, utility easements, wetlands, and other public infrastructure.
Compensation may be in the form of cash disbursements or land exchanges, depending on the landowner’s preference.
P.L. 13-17, or the Land Compensation Act, was enacted in 2002 to authorize the MPLA to incur a public debt of not more than $40 million to finance the settlement of private land acquisitions.
With help from CDA and other agencies, MPLA finalized the loan in December 2003.
