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’I’m being pressured to accept 2bn/- less’
2006-11-12 10:09:39
By Correspondent Michael Haonga
An investor at the centre of a saga related to the Mikumi Wildlife Lodge in Morogoro which was destroyed by fire last month is claiming that attempts are being made to soften him into accepting only one and a half billion shillings instead of 3.5bn/- that the high court ruled that he be paid as compensation for breach of contract. The amount includes interest.
The investor, John Lamba, was awarded the sum in the wake of a decision by the government to repossess the lodge, which he had acquired as part of the divestiture process, and which he had rehabilitated and was awaiting the green-light to begin operating.
The bitter man lamented that the delay in settlement of the dues is inconveniencing him greatly, He is particularly worried because the bank from which he drew a loan to rehabilitate the hotel is mounting pressure to be repaid, and is threatening that it may resort to auctioning his other properties.
Lamba told the Sunday Observer that the attempts to soften him into being paid 2bn/- less than his rightful dues, gathered tempo especially after publication of a story on the saga by this newspaper on October 22, 2006.
The crux of the story was that the investor, through his lawyer Kassim Nyangarika, had filed a suit to the court of appeal under certificate of urgency, pleading that it compels the government to pay out the said sum fast, to save his property from being sold by his creditors.
He said he had since become a target of phone calls and direct communications from officials who were pressuring him to accept a 1.5bn/- out of court settlement – a proposition that he has consistently rejected.
It would be unrealistic to accept the amount, he said, pointing out, among other reasons, that the bank loan attracted an annual interest rate of 7 per cent.
Lamba complained that at some stage, he had ben directed to the Ministry of Finance, but he hit a wall because of the feeling that the amount that he had been awarded was staggering.
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