|
Make Land Registration stress free – Minister
tells Commission
Bolgatanga, Aug 20, Ghanadot/GNA -
Alhaji Collins Dauda, the Minister of Lands and Natural
Resources, has appealed to the Lands Commission to ensure
that reforms are well implemented to make land registration
stress free.
This, he said, would reduce the bureaucracy, inefficiencies
and frustrations that the public suffered under the old
system.
“The integrity of the land records must be assured at all
times and I expect to see a change in the attitude of staff
and work ethics at the Commission to ensure success of the
reforms”, he told the staff.
The Minister said this when he inaugurated the Upper East
Regional Lands Commission in Bolgatanga under the
Chairmanship of Mr. Alfred Afulani Adjeni, a retired
educationist.
He said problems with land would continue to be an obstacle
to national development if the bottlenecks associated with
land administration were not removed and that it was the
collective responsibility of the government, the Commission
and the public to deal with these problems.
Alhaji Dauda said that lands occupied by the state and its
agencies were not well protected and prone to encroachment
and called on the Regional Lands Commission to study the
situation and advise government on the appropriate course of
action to take to secure the lands and also ensure that
disputes did not ensue between the state agencies and the
land owners.
He suggested to the Commission to start by compiling data on
lands occupied by the state agencies in the region, saying
it was very important because government intended to return
lands acquired by the state but were no longer needed.
Alhaji Dauda
said the excessive fragmentation of land in the region would
not encourage investors as small plots of land were owned by
different families and urged the Commission to study the
situation and see how best it could be tackled.
He also appealed to land owners be educated to register
their lands so that the Commission could help improve the
security of tenure that will in turn attract investors into
the region.
Mrs. Lucy Awuni, Upper East Deputy Regional Minister,
expressed concern at the rampant rate at which people in the
region, especially those in the Municipal and District
capitals, sold their farmlands, their only source of
livelihood, for the development of residential
accommodation.
“It is significant to note that the region’s land resources
form the most valuable asset that can be relied upon and
used to drive its development. It is equally an asset that
can cause or promote strife in society if not properly
managed.”
“I therefore perceive the role of this Commission very vital
in giving a sense of direction to the proper management and
use of this scarce resource for the sustainable development
of this region”, she said.
Mrs Awuni said land litigation was too much in the region
and urged the commission to create an avenue for employing
Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms to lessen land
disputes. incur.
Mr. Adjeni, said the commission would work in collaboration
with the Regional Coordinating Council and the Lands
Commission.
A new Lands Commission Act, 2008 (ACT 767) was passed by
Parliament in 2008. With this Act the Commission is now
responsible for all the issues involved in land
administration, surveying and mapping, compensation and
valuation, land registration and land management.
The Survey Department, Land Valuation Board, Land Title
Registry and the Lands Commission Secretariat have been
brought under a new Lands Commission with four functional
divisions.
These are Survey and Mapping Division, Land Registration,
Land Valuation and Vested Lands Management Divisions.
These form the new structure of the Commission and would
provide all the land administration services.
GNA
|
