§ Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has as to the terms of reference and functions of the negotiation committee set up under the Uganda Expropriated Properties Act 1982; who are its members; and how many times the Committee has met.
§ Mr. WhitneyAs laid down in regulation 9 of the Uganda Expropriated Properties (Repossession and Disposal) Regulations 1983 (No. 6 of 1983) the functions and terms of reference of the Negotiating Committee appointed by the Uganda Minister of Finance are
to assist him in all matters requiring negotiation under the provisions of the (Expropriated Properties) Act and to advise him on what decision to take on the recommendation and advice of the Verification Committee".We understand that the negotiating committee is headed by President Obote himself in his capacity as Minister of Finance, and consists of seven Ministers and the deputy governor of the Bank of Uganda. We do not know how often the negotiating committee has met.
§ Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has as to how many families the figure of 1,696 applications for repossession of property received by the Uganda authorities represents.
§ Mr. WhitneyWe believe the number of persons and firms who have submitted applications for repossession of property in Uganda to be appreciably lower than the overall total of 1,696 applications. We understand that some individuals and firms have each filed multiple applications within this total.
§ Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has any information as to the potential number of claimants for repossession of property under the Uganda Expropriated Properties Act 1982.
§ Mr. WhitneyThere was a time limit of 21 May 1983 for the submission of applications for repossession of property under the Uganda Expropriated Properties Act. The figure of 1,696 such applications represents the final total.
§ Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has as to the procedure for dealing with claims for compensation under the Uganda Expropriated Properties Act; how many claims for compensation have been made; how many claims for compensation have been processed; and what funds are available to the Ungandan Government for the payment of compensation.
§ Mr. WhitneyAs we understand the procedure for dealing with claims for compensation under the Uganda Expropriated Properties Act the first step is for the property concerned to be valued by the board of valuers appointed by the Minister of Finance under the provisions of section 2 of The Properties and Businesses (Acquisition) Decree 1975.
As provided both in section 2 of the Properties and Businesses (Acquisition) Decree 1975 and in section 15 of The Assets of Departed Asians Decree 1973 (as amended in 1975) the compensation payable in such cases
is to be based upon the excess of the value of the property or business over the amount of any liabilities or obligations declared 354W under the (relevant) Decree or otherwise attaching to such property of business, and such liabilities and obligations shall include any taxes, rates or other levies imposed on the said property or business by law.We have been advised by the Ugandan authorities that approximately 2,000 claims for compensation have been received (of which slightly over 1,000 came from persons or firms resident in Britain). The Ugandan authorities have also informed us that they intend to give priority at present to the processing of applications for the repossession of property. We have not so far heard of claims for compensation being fully processed although we believe that work is being done on the preliminary valuation of the properties concerned.
We do not know of any special funds established by the Ugandan Government for the payment of compensation. But we understand that the proceeds of the sale of expropriated properties will be devoted to this.