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Make input into Land Administration Bill - AG
Accra, Feb. 9, GNA - The Attorney-General and Minister of
Justice, Mr. Joe Ghartey on Friday urged surveyors to make
quality input into the Land Administration Bill soon to be
laid before Parliament.
He said most of the laws on land issues were obsolete and
needed to be amended to reflect the realities of the times
and also address the numerous problems related to land
acquisition, ownership and other uses.
Addressing the 38th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the
Ghana Institute of Surveyors in Accra, Mr Ghartey noted that
as an institution their role in land matters could not be
overemphasized and therefore the need for them to put their
knowledge at the disposal of policymakers.
The Minister stated that land was at the core of human
development pointing out that issues concerning ownership,
acquisition and development of land were crucial to the
development and survival of the country.
"Given the crucial nature of land to the infrastructural
development of the nation it can be inferred that problems
concerning the acquisition, ownership and use of land are
invariably problems affecting the development of the
nation."
Mr Ghartey said it was based on this premise that government
in collaboration with her development partners had embarked
on Land Administration Project (LAP).
"The main objective of this project is to establish a single
body which will administer land matters."
He said the Land Title Registry, Survey Department, Lands
Commission and Land Valuation Board would be merged into one
body and their activities streamlined to enhance efficiency.
"Another important aspect of this project is the
identification and codification of all the various customary
rules on land in the country."
The Minister expressed the hope that the LAP, which had
brought on board all stakeholders involved in the
administration of land, would address all problems
associated with land acquisition, ownership and use as well
as introduce best practices.
Mr Ghartey urged the Surveyors to continue to uphold high
professional standards and consequently weed out quacks
whose activities might tarnish the image of the profession.
Mr K. Amoah-Mensah, President of the Ghana Institute of
Surveyors, said key roles played by surveyors in the last 50
years had been commendable.
However, they have had their challenges in the form of
unrealized development expectation of post-independent
Ghanaian society.
He enumerated some of the problems as existence of multiple
land administration systems, unfortunate public perception
of the surveyor at the centre of land litigations and
unethical professional practices.
Mr Amoah-Mensah also cited project suspension that, he said,
was mainly due to resource constraints and political and
social reasons.
Others are teething and pioneering professional practice
problems and acceptability syndrome, especially for the
locally trained quantity surveyor.
Mr Amoah-Mensah stated that clearly the nation's future
outlook was being propelled on the vision of peaceful
secured country poised for productive, enhanced livelihood
development within the environment of rule of law.
In this context, the surveyors' role would be redefined to
provide the interventions needed to respond to the land and
construction resources development, he said.
GNA
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