Demystify Land Acquisition In Ghana - Says Elite CEO

Players in the real estate development sector have been urged to lead the way to demystify land acquisition in the country to enable Ghanaians and foreign investors to have confidence to acquire land.

The Chief Executive Officer of Elite Kingdom Investments and Consulting Limited, Mr Robert Kwao Djangmah, who made the call, noted that this could be done by ensuring that all land acquired either for sale or for housing, is bought from the right owners, fully paid for and properly registered with the Lands Commission.

He said such a move would also boost the confidence of those who bought the lands and eliminate the dreadful acts of land-guards who tormented innocent people, sometimes to death in the country.

Mr Djangmah was speaking during a courtesy call on him by the executive of Corporate Initiative Ghana, organisers of the Ghana Banking Awards.

Elite Kingdom was a platinum sponsor of the Bank of the Year at the 2010 awards held in Accra a couple of weeks ago of which Guaranty Trust Bank emerged tops.

“We have been able to win the hearts of many because it is always our goal to ensure that our customers who buy our land, do so at no risk because we have the proper documentation to back our lands,” Mr Djangmah said.

He said the company also ensured that it dealt with land owners and got a fair deal to satisfy them after which the proper registration was done at the Lands Commission.

The issue about land litigation in the country continues to rage as a result of many factors including the multi sale of a particular piece of land, improper documentation and greed.

The situation has reached an alarming proportion, sometimes to the extent that some landowners lose their lives through attacks from land-guards.

To a large extent, the practice also erodes investor confidence as they shy away from acquiring land to facilitate their investments.

To Mr Djnagmah, all these could end if the right things such as ensuring the proper registration and acquisition of land from the rightful owners, among other things is done.

He also raised the issue of access to funds for development projects from the banks in the country.

“We have identified the pressing needs of the people and in this particular aspect, it is about the shortage of houses but the banks are in many instances reluctant to offer credit facilities at the right rates to local investors such as Elite Kingdom to help bridge the housing gap”, he said.

Mr Djangmah said until the banks released the funds at affordable rates, the cost of houses in the country would continue to remain high.

The Chief Host and Head of the Awards Planning Committee of the Ghana Banking Awards, Mr Willing Vanderpuije, commended the role played by Elite Kingdom in making the 2010 awards a success.

He said since the banks did not contribute financially to the organisation of the awards, it was through the generosity of companies such as Elite Kingdom that the awards were held every year.

Mr Vanderpuije expressed the hope that the banks would recognise the value and genuine nature of such companies and offer their support to enable them to reach the mass of the people without housing in the country.