President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo wants the wrongful and multiple sale of lands to be a thing of the past.
He, thus, has admonished chiefs and landowners to desist from the unlawful acts of selling illicitly acquired lands and selling the same piece of land more than once.
Speaking during the maiden edition of the National Land Conference held in Accra, on December 7, 2022, the President lamented over the country’s lands, which have been seized by clans, skins, stools, and families, emphasising that the situation has stunted development.
Proposing a solution to the menace, he called for a new land administration model to be developed.
“Unfortunately, in our urban areas, the customary lands system has been the bane of most of our problems such as the double sale of lands, wrongful sale of lands by people without capacity, multiple claims to lands by different stools, skins, clans or families among others. We must take a critical look at our land administration and develop a model that works for us,” the President said during the maiden edition of the National Land Conference in Accra, on December 7, 2022.
He further touched on the issue of land guards, who have been a nuisance on many lands, and expressed optimism that the implementation of the new Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036) will eradicate the trend of land guards harassing landowners.
“But laws, in themselves, do not resolve problems. It is their application and effective implementation that yield the requisite results. That is why this conference, which brings together diverse people from different sectors to deliberate on the nexus between land and socio-economic development, is so crucial”.
“Fortunately, the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036), provides a strong foundation for fashioning out a workable and efficient land administration. The Act has far-reaching provisions which, if implemented, will go a long way to build the effective land administration we desire,” Nana Akufo-Addo said.
The President argued that if land paperwork must be processed manually, the nation cannot provide effective land administration, and he asked the Lands Commission to move quickly on the digitization of the land.
“We cannot deliver an efficient land administration if documents on land have to be processed manually. We must, therefore, expedite action on the digitisation process, and ensure that the Commission goes fully digital. As you go into technical discussions, it is my hope that this will be key on your agenda”.
He further noted that the Land Act, “addresses the challenges associated with boundary demarcation, and clarifies rights and interests in land, and persons with capacity to alienate land.
“It provides stringent jail terms for various offences related to lands, such as landguardism, falsification of records and fraudulent transactions in land administration”.
Source: The Independent Ghana