GH¢1bn Compensation For Land Owners

Hon. Alhaji Collins Dauda

MINISTER of Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Collins Dauda, has announced government's preparedness to release GH¢1billion to deal with all outstanding compensation in respect of lands acquired by the state.

The Lands and Natural Resources Minister made the announcement during the inauguration of the National Lands Commission on Friday in Accra.

The 15-member board was inaugurated to work to improve the land administration system in the country.

The commission has Nana Agyei Ampofo as Chairman and Dr. W. Odame Larbi as Executive Secretary.

Other members are Augustine Appia Adu, Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Ofori-Offei, Ghana Institution of Surveyors, Osah Mills, Ghana Bar Association and Kwadwo Baafour-Asare, Town and Country Planning Department.

The rest are Jonathan A. Allotey, Environmental Protection Agency, Nai Kwao Otuo V, Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen, Kumum Na Yiri II, National House of Chiefs, Oko-Nikoi Dzani, Greater Accra Region.

Others are Dr. Kwaku Agyeman Mensah, Ashanti Region, Rev Mrs. Helena Swanzy-Essien, Central Region, Hudu Siita, Upper West Region, Naba Sigri Bewong, Upper East Region and Ismala Alhassan, Northern.

Hon. Dauda urged the members to ensure the success of the reform of the land sector because it has reached a critical stage.

According to him, several initiatives under the Land Administration Project were on-going including pilot customary boundary demarcation, pilot systematic land titling, development of a computerized land information system, and intelligent document scanning of the Land Registry records.

He lamented that currently, the lands commission did not have a good public image as there was general staff indiscipline, poor attitude towards work and poor ethics.

Hon. Dauda stressed that there were also undue delays in service delivery which led to rest-seeking and corruption.

According to him, most of the many land cases in the courts stemmed from the fact that some of the staff did not work professionally.

The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources said the commission would have to work hard to rebuild its image and to rebuild public confidence in the land administration system and added that all necessary structures had to be put in place by the new members to ensure that the staff were adequately supervised.

 “The Commission must take keen interest in these initiatives as they will help improve security of tenure and the land administration system”.

Hon. Dauda stressed that every day, 80 land issues were recorded and 30,000 in a year.

 “Government expects the commission to advise him on the appropriate policies that will address the challenges and set the land administration system on the right course,” he said.

The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources pointed out that the commission should work hard to reduce the bureaucracy, inefficiencies, fraudulent practices and frustrations of public.

“Surveyors must also desist from preparing site plans of the same land for more than one person and that professional surveyors should also not authenticate the work of quack surveyors,” he cautioned.

Hon. Dauda said government's intention to return lands acquired by state which were no longer needed for the purpose for which they were acquired or for other public purposes to their original owners still stood.

He therefore urged Ghanaians to rely on the new board that had been inaugurated for better results.

The chairman of the commission, on behalf of the members, expressed profound gratitude to President Evans Atta Mills for having confidence in them. By Stella Danso