Moves To Tackle Land Sector Challenges

Land administration in Ghana faces major challenges which pose as a threat to the country and its potential Investors.

The constraints in the land sector have implications for effective and efficient land service delivery.

These include general indiscipline in the land market, indeterminate boundaries of stools/skin lands/conflicting claims to ownership, multiple and complex laws governing land administration, inadequate security of land tenure due to land related conflicts and litigations, grants of same parcel to different tenants, lack of transparency and accountability in land dealings, high spate of land encroachment, and lack of adequate functional and geographic systems and networks.

These constrains manifest in inadequate security of tenure, difficult accessibility to land and the general indiscipline in the land market characterized by land encroachments, multiple sale of lands, haphazard developments and disputes leading to endless land litigations.

The Lands Commission in July saw the appointment of a new acting Executive Secretary in the person of Alhaji Suleman Mahama.

Mr. Mahama assumed office from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, where he served as Technical Advisor to the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources on the Lands Sector, after serving as Acting Chief Director of the Ministry.

Mr. Mahama has vast knowledge in Business Management with years of selfless service and rich experience in Land Administration, having 34 years of progressive working experience in the public sector – Land Administration, serving in various capacities such as Acting Chief Director, Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (August 2017 – January 2018); Board Chairman, Ghana School of Surveying and Mapping (June 2017 – Present), Technical Director in charge of the Land Sector – Ministry of Lands & Natural Resources, responsible for Land Policy Development; Co-ordination, Monitoring & Evaluation of Land Sector Programs & Projects; and Land Advisory Services to State Agencies, Customary Authorities and the General Public (January 2016 – June 2018); and Coordinating Officer for the passage of the Land Bill (June 2017 – August, 2018).

Alhaji Sulemana Mahama is dynamic, results-oriented, a proficient communicator, and an experienced trainer in experiential management, land & property administration and management information systems.

It is therefore no surprise that the Nana Akufo Addo-led NPP Government took the decision to appoint him as acting Executive Secretary of the Lands Commission, in the wake of the numerous challenges the Commission and Lands Sector faces.

Mr. Mahama's skills, knowledge, years of experience, and personality, will be vital to salvaging the image of the Lands Commission; achieving the 30day turnaround time; and promoting efforts by the Commission to achieve digitization of its records.