Stakeholders sensitized on land administration

The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the local chapter of Transparency International, has organised a multi-stakeholder forum in Ho to apprise members on land administration and related corruption issues.

The forum, orgnaised in partnership with the Lands Commission, is part of the GII’s Land and Corruption in Africa Project II (LCA II), which seeks to raise awareness on the Land ACT 2020 (ACT 1036) and the guidelines on large-scale land-based investment.

It is to empower participants to hold duty-bearers accountable towards making informed decisions about land rights and administration.

Mr Michael H. Okai, the Project Coordinator of GII, said limited access to information, complex laws and procedures regulating land ownership and insufficient access to justice are some of the driving forces behind land corruption in Ghana and Africa.

The platform would expose participants to land corruption and its impact on land governance while empowering citizens to report such cases conveniently using GII’s Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre (ALAC) platforms for redress.

Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer has shown that the land sector exhibits one of the highest bribery rates among public services, affecting one in five people, globally.

The corrupt practices manifested as bribery, fraud and false accounting, favouritism, abuse of discretion, cronyism, embezzlement, facilitation payment and nepotism among other things, Mr Okai said.

Mr Mark E. Gudu, the Acting Volta Regional Lands Officer, said the lands ACT 2020 (ACT 1036) had been simplified to ease the difficulties that impeded the smooth administration of lands in the country.

He said the Law was specific on the rights of landowners and what they intended to use the resource for, guaranteed family and land accountability, and proffered punishment for activities of land guards.

Other simplified measures included facilities for search, land leases done online, and the availability of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, to make land administration easier for all.

Mr Joseph Promise Agbenyeke, the Information Officer, Regional Lands Commission, gave a brief background to the establishment of his office under the Lands Commission Act, 2008 (Act 767) in accordance with Article 258 of the 1992 Constitution.

This is to ensure that land use was in accordance with sustainable management principles and the maintenance of a sound eco-system.

The Ghana Land ACT 1038 is grounded on allodial title (absolute ownership), customary law freehold, common law freehold, usufructuary interest, leases and customary tenancy.

Mr Agbenyeke enumerated the derivatives of the new law as no more freehold but leases, presumable spousal interest, and disposal of interest by one party (consent needed).

Others included the creation of Customary Land Secretary, protection of Communal Lands and the prior registration of whole land of an allodial owner before lesser interests can be created.

He said boundaries of land would have to be registered before owners could be permitted to dispose of the landed property.

Mr Ernest Apau, the Ho West District Chief Executive, commended the Government and major actors for taking steps to re-align impediments to land administration for accelerated development.

He appealed to municipal and district assemblies in the region to mobilised support to address all issues bothering on the Land ACT 2020 (ACT 1036), to bring sanity to the sector.

Mr Bright Agbagba, ALAC’s Focal Person in the Volta Region, said his office rendered free, confidential and professional services to victims of corruption and for witnesses to report and seek redress.

He urged patrons to use the confidential clause and Whistle-Blowers Act for protection.

Land holders are only trustees and the Land Commission’s duty is to preserve and manage the land judiciously, he said.

Officials from the Lands Commission, Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority, traditional authorities, women and youth groups, farmer-based organisations and district assemblies.