Lands Commission bemoans rising cases of multiple land sales

The Lands Commission has expressed concern about the ongoing practice of multiple land sales.

The Commission highlighted that the practice causes tension and places additional strain on the Commission’s ability to carry out its responsibilities effectively.

Surveyor James Dadson, the Executive Secretary of the Lands Commission, has called upon individuals to avoid engaging in such activities.

“There are a lot of multiple land sales in the land sector ongoing. For example, a land may be sold to Mr. A, and then Mr. B comes and buys the same land because Mr. A has not yet started development. This practice is outside the Lands Commission’s jurisdiction because about 80% of our lands are owned and managed by the customary sector, and this is where a lot of these multiple sales take place. This is what gives rise to land guard activities.”

Lands Ministry tasks Lands Commission to get rid of ‘goro boys’

In a related development, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has tasked the Lands Commission to get rid of middlemen popularly known as “goro boys” from their operations.

This directive comes in response to a 2021 study conducted by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) which cited the Lands Commission as one of the most corrupt institutions in Ghana.

Addressing the issue during an Editor’s Forum that discussed the commission’s recent ranking, the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Benito Owusu Bio stated that measures are underway to sanitize the commission.

“We are asking the Lands Commission to get rid of those goro boys and the goro people in the system. These goro people cannot work in isolation, they can only work with the connivance and assistance of personnel within the system of Lands Commission.”

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ has taken the bold initiative to get rid of the recalcitrant and the bad nuts within their system. Likewise, we at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources are also going to follow their example to ensure that we also rid the system,” he stated.