TIG Post

Tag: Land Commission

  • RTI slaps ¢100k fine against Land Commission for withholding ‘returned’ state lands information

    RTI slaps ¢100k fine against Land Commission for withholding ‘returned’ state lands information

    The Lands Commission has to pay an administrative fine to a tune of GH¢100,000 to the Right to Information Commission (RIC) for failing to release information on returned state lands to pressure group, OccupyGhana.

    Also, the RIC has instructed the Lands Commission to provide the said details to the pressure group.

    The Executive Secretary is to provide among other things; a list of all public lands over which government’s ownership or control has been relinquished, and the names of the person to whom those lands have been released.

    “The respective sizes and locations (suburbs, towns/cities and regions) of all such lands; The conditions of release, whether free, sale, lease or licence; If the land has been leased, the amount of rent paid or payable; and any other amounts paid or received by government, if any, for each such transaction”.

    These pieces of information are to be provided not later than 14 days after receipt of the decision.

    The pressure group sought after this information after reports that the government has retrieved lands that were encorached by some individuals.

    OccupyGhana in its statement explained that they were compelled to seek RIC’s intervention in September last year after the Lands Commission told them that they would do so upon advise from the Attorney-General.

    “For a while, we tolerated the risible excuses, starting with the 7 June 2022 demand for the details of ‘any personality’ within our organisation, to the 21 June 2022 blame of its own ‘manual’ systems.

    “But when on 2 September, the Lands Commission finally claimed that it was waiting for the Attorney-General’s advice on whether the consent of the persons to whom the State lands had allegedly been transferred was required to provide the information, we were compelled to seek the RIC’s intervention,” OccupyGhana added in its statement.

    Source: The Independent Ghana

  • We’ll not shield anyone found guilty – Lands Commission

    We’ll not shield anyone found guilty – Lands Commission

    The Land Commission has promised not to shield any staff who is found to have been engaged in any act of illegality, assuring that any staff whose actions are deemed to be in contravention of the law will be handed over to the appropriate authorities for the law to take its course.

    In a press release issued on Wednesday, March 1, the Lands Commission detailed how internal investigations it embarked on led to the uncovering of a GH¢100 million misappropriation by some staff members.

    It disclosed that the investigations form part of efforts to ensure an effective land administration system and reduce corruption and other forms of illegalities.

    It promised to collaborate with National Security and relevant institutions to ensure that the staff members are dealt with in accordance with the law.

    “The Commission wishes to state emphatically that the investigations leading to the arrest and/or prosecution of some staff of the Commission, as well as the ongoing investigations, were at the instance of the Management of the Commission.

    “This is part of the Commission’s broader efforts to protect the integrity of the Commission and protect the interest of clients who access the services of the Commission, and the country at large,” parts of the statement read.

    “The Commission wants to assure the general public that it will not shield any staff of the Commission, and will continue to work with the national security apparatus to ensure that all persons found culpable in this matter are made to face the full rigors of the law.

    “We wish to assure Ghanaians that the Commission, under the current administration, is committed to efficient and effective land administration that is anchored on the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and candor, in the public interest.

    The Commission also confirmed during a press conference that it is in the process of setting up a robust system software for its dealings after some staff was busted for stealing GH¢100 million from their previous in-house made open system.

    Deputy Executive Secretary, Jones Ofori-Boadu explained how rigorous the new system will be designed to deal with incidents of thievery, adding that they await approval from the Finance Ministry to commence the process of implementing the system.

    “What we are going to do is to make sure that, that platform is a very robust platform that will sit on an enterprise proprietary software system. And that platform should be more robust than the one we developed in-house which was sitting on an open source. So that is the decision management has taken and I’m sure very soon…we are at the point of getting approval from the Ministry of finance. And once we get that the process will kick start.”

    He further stated that the software has components that will aid the management to transfer manual data into a digital format.

    “…It comes in different components and one of the components is dealing with the development of a system which is the software we will be using to move all the data from the manual to the digital environment.”

    The Land Commission also confirmed that 10 of its employees have been interdicted out of the 16 people busted by the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB).

    Background

    National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) officials reportedly arrested 16 people involved in stealing about 500 draft cheques meant for the Land Commission of Ghana.

    According to a news report by the Daily Guide newspaper, the 16 suspects were part of a 21-member syndicate involved in stealing cheques worth around GH¢100 million belonging to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

    The report indicated that the suspects were arrested between January 2023 and February 2023 after a petition was filed against them for crimes they committed from 2021 to 2023.

  • Provide adequate information to avoid delays in documentation – Land Commission

    Timothy Anyidoho, the Greater Accra Regional Lands Officer-Lands Commission, has urged current and future landowners to make sure the information submitted to the Commission during their application for a land title is valid since doing so will hasten the process.

    He claims that despite the fact that many people complain about the Commission’s bad customer service, they are unable to access crucial information that would enable them to finish the procedure in a certain amount of time.

    “If we are working on a document and find out that there is a mistake, we have to write to your email or post, or further call. Assuming you use a third party and we try reaching out yet do not get in touch, then it means the document must be on hold till we get in contact with the right person before we can continue. This can affect the regular 90 days that the process is expected to last. So, give us the right information so that we can get back to you,” he said

    Speaking on the topic ‘The Processes of Acquiring Land Title’ on the HomeOwners show, he advised individuals to avoid rushing to buy lands but rather take time to make a thorough search to arrive at a final point where necessary requirements are met before proceeding to make any payments – so as to avoid future litigation.

    “More often than not, when people want to acquire property they are hasty to transact business with dealers before they want to approach the Lands Commission. For you to show interest in any land, the first thing to ask for is a site-plan. That will indicate at which part of the earth the land can be located, then you visit any of the Land Commission’s offices to make a search. That search is very critical, because it will decide whether you continue to make a deal on the land or not.

    “Unfortunately for some people, the search is done after the contract has been concluded and money has been paid; that is when they come to register. In registration, that is when they get to know that the land does not belong to the said person or belongs to government,” he said.

    He advised that potential land owners must adopt the habit of visiting lands about to be sold them to get first-hand information that might not be in the public records. This, he says, can save them from being defrauded by people who pose as landowners.

    “Always visit the land more than once. The first time will have to do with the landowner, and you are not likely to be informed whether the land has been sold to someone else or it belongs to a different person, or there is a potential litigation until you visit the land alone. Then, people around are likely to give you information that may not be in the records,” he advised.

  • Government releases 200-acres of land to La Stool

    The Coalition of La Associations (COLA) on Thursday said the government has released more than 200-acres of land acquired years ago in the La Dadekotopon Municipality to the Traditional Council.

    This follows several years of petitions and protests from groups and community members in La on the need for the state to return portions of the lands to their rightful owners.

    Addressing a news conference in Accra, Mr. Oscar Nii Odoi Glover, President of COLA, said the portion of lands released are situated at the East Airport area (Kpletson) bordering Tse-Addo, the Laboma Beach Resort, the Bush Road Goil filling Station area, Amarahia dairy farms and the Adenta-Aviation lands.

    “These were lands that the Military had proposed to acquire. They’ve been described as proposed acquisition and I think we all understand proposed acquisition,” he said.

    “These are lands that do not belong to the government, we have not given it to the government but the Military felt the location of the land would be of good utility to them and so they wanted it,” he added.

    He commended the government, particularly President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for heeding the plea of the people.

    Mr. Glover said the released lands will enable the community to undertake various developmental projects for the betterment of the youth and future generations.

    “Our population is growing and we want a place for our children to lay down their heads, so today, the Coalition is happy to inform the public that President Akufo-Addo has granted this petition and has instructed that portions of the said lands are released to the Stool,” he added.

    Mr. Glover assured the Government of the Coalition’s continued support to address the issue of land grabbing by unauthorized persons.

    Source: GNA

  • Land Commission introduces online service

    The Land Commission, as part of measures to improve service to clients, will from Monday, November 9, 2020, provide an online service.

    A statement copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) and signed by Alhaji Sulemana Mahama, Executive Secretary, the Lands Commission said the initiative would increase satisfaction, enhance productivity and improve its service delivery.

    It said the platform would give an opportunity for clients to submit applications, requests and make electronic payment for services and track applications remotely.

    The Commission announced that due to exercises to get the online platform functional, there would be intermittent disruptions and delays to services provided at its Client Access Unit (CSAU) in Accra and Tema, therefore, “Management regrets any inconvenience this may cause.”

    Source: GNA

  • Ga East MCE warns encroachers on waterways as assembly begins demolition exercise to avert flooding

    The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the Ga East Municipal Assembly (GEMA), Abokobi Hon. Janet Tulasi Mensah, has yet again issued a stern warning to encroachers of waterways in the municipality. The MCE said this in an interview with the media at a demolition exercise at Dome Parakou, Paradise-Riverside.

    The Assembly on Wednesday, 29th and Thursday, 30th moved to pull down structures near the Onyasea River which divides the Ga East Municipality and the Okaikwei North Municipality, following growing concerns by residents on the spate of flooding in the area with a little rainfall.

    The Assembly, determined to clamp down on recalcitrant and deviant developers who build on waterways and places designated as roads and for public use without recourse to the necessary, required procedures by the Assembly, embarked on the exercise to send the right signal.

    The demolition exercise, was not only meant to address the perennial flooding in the Dome Parakou Paradise-Riverside area, but also formed part of the Assembly’s plans towards safeguarding the sanctity and serenity of the water bodies and climate change agenda.

    On Wednesday morning, an excavator, hired through the efforts of the Paradise-Riverside Residents’ Association, with support from the Assembly, razed down buildings identified to have encroached on the waterways and buffers of the Onyasea River.

    The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Janet Tulasi Mensah, who was personally on site for the demolition exercise observed that indiscriminate building is a major cause of flooding in the municipality and wondered why people would spend their hard-earned money putting up structures at unauthorised places only to be demolished and encouraged them to seek the right permits.

    “Our actions and inactions have diverse effects on us as a people. We see that a place is waterlogged or waterway but because we have money, we fill such places and build on it and at the end of the day it comes back to affect the whole community. I’m appealing to all prospective developers to approach the Assembly and obtain the necessary permits before embarking on any project in the municipality”, she said.

    She further bemoaned the habit of some people in diverting natural waterways to suit their parochial interests and stated that the Assembly is moving to deal with such offenders.

    “I believe we all understand that building on waterways causes flooding. The Assembly has the mandate to pull down such structures and I’m therefore using this opportunity to caution us all to desist from such practices in order not to make us resort to demolition”, she stated.

    The Municipal Works Engineer (MWE), Peter Bah-Lano, who supervised the exercise, alongside his colleague, the Municipal Urban Roads Engineer (MURE), Aboagye Foster, recounted the flooding situation in the area and said he was hopeful that the action will send the right signal to developers who undertake projects without consulting the Assembly for the required permits.

    “Every year, when it rains it affects people living here badly. The Onyasea River passes here and people have encroached on the buffer and this impedes the flow of water into it. Through state-citizens participation in governance, the Association made contributions and we collaborated to undertake this exercise”,

    The MWE expressed gratitude to the Residents’ Association for teaming up with the Assembly to carry out such action and called on the other RAs, individuals and corporate bodies to follow suit to help curb the numerous developmental menaces in the municipality.

    “We know the problems in the various communities but the Assembly hasn’t got the funds to tackle all so I’m appealing to the other Residents’ Associations to mobilise themselves and and support us to address the challenges facing them. We know Associations such as the South East Haatso, South Kwabenya, Ashongman Estate and Pure Water, among others, are all doing their best in this regard so we are calling on the others to follow suit”, the MWE requested.

    An executive member of the Dome Parakou Paradise-Riverside Residents’ Association, Mr. Ernest Appiah, who was at the site of the demolition exercise together with Mr. Kofi Appiadu and other members, expressed his and the Association’s joy at and commendations for the action taken by the Assembly.

    “Those of us who live here suffer a lot from flooding whenever it rains. We came mobilised ourselves as an Association and submitted our request to the Assembly and the result is what we’re witnessing. The Assembly coming in to do this exercise brings us a lot of joy and we’re grateful to them”, he said.

    Similar exercise is expected to be carried out in the parts of the municipality where developers have encroached on waterways and public places.

    The Assembly has already commenced due diligence to complete the necessary legal processes on other structures earmarked for demolition in the area.

    Source: Okunyin Boaz Orlan-Hackman, Contributor