New Lands Commission to oversee other land agencies

A new Lands Commission Bill, currently before cabinet for consideration will give a new mandate to the Lands Commission, with oversight responsibilities over all other land agencies.

With the approval of the bill, state agencies such as the Land Valuation Board, Survey Department and the Land Title Registry, will all fall under the preview of the Lands Commission, established in accordance with the 1992 Constitution and Act 483 of 1994.

Andrew Adjei-Yeboah, a deputy Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, announced this at the inauguration of the reconstituted Brong Ahafo Regional Lands Commission, last week.

The newly sworn-in 26 member commissioners would harmonise land policies and legislative frameworks with customary law for sustainable land administration.

Mr. Adjei-Yeboah explained that a new Lands Commission was vital to ensure that all the land sector agencies operate under one umbrella to give effective service delivery.

He noted that land is an invaluable asset without which the totality of mankind's development agenda cannot materialise.

The deputy Minister therefore bemoaned the numerous land disputes pending before the law courts.

According to him, an inventory conducted in the high courts and circuit courts under the auspices of the sector ministry and the Land Administration Project revealed that there are a total of 7,122 land cases in the regional capitals alone.

Mr. Adjei-Yeboah stated that the government was also concerned about the numerous complaints from land owners whose lands were compulsory acquired or occupied but for which no compensation had been paid.

In a speech read on his behalf, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, said national development had sometimes been hampered with various land litigations.

He said these range from lack of transparency on the part of customary owners, multiple allocations, poor record keeping and general indiscipline in the land market characterised by the current spate of encroachment.

He therefore urged the new commissioners to work hard to curb these problems in order to fulfil the overall objectives of the commission.

The chairman of the Regional Commission, Frederick Obeng, who is an administrator, promised that his outfit would live up to expectation.

The members were sworn in by Justice E. Ato Assan, a Sunyani high court judge.

Source: The Ghanaian Times