[contextly_sidebar id=”fsOutunUMHoQ5XVsKIoc9xkDJduZVzKJ”]He has, therefore, urged the Lands Commission to hasten the process to make land title service delivery more efficient.

Speaking at the Land Administration Forum in Accra, the Vice President called on the private sector to partner government to make the ongoing efforts at automation a reality.

He said the current system is frustrating many Ghanaians who want to register lands.

He said the current system is frustrating many Ghanaians who want to register lands hence the call.

“Many who want to register lands are often frustrated by complex processes, and often needless delays and corruption in many facets of the lands administration process. The Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government is committed to creating a healthy land administration environment,” Dr. Bawumia said.

In 2017, the Vice President announced the commencement of the digitization of land registration processes from this year, as part of the government’s agenda to remove the bottlenecks associated with registration of land in Ghana.

The Vice President who is unenthused about the current state of land administration in the country noted that the digitizing the system could promote the growth of businesses and improve planning of settlements in the country.

But the Director in Charge of Land Registration Division at the Lands Commission, Yaa Agyeman Boadi,  mentioned inadequate resources and technical constraints as some of the factors that stall land registration.

She said although they have been asked to digitize their systems, these constraints are making it impossible to achieve these deliverables.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The President Akufo-Addo observed that the processes of procuring land and registering land titles are also fraught with red tape.

[contextly_sidebar id=”iXE9AP45y1OGsMKre8dtTGPPRfG7Giyx”]“On a daily basis, and I know I am not alone in making this observation, we hear of countless lamentations from many Ghanaians, who face great difficulty in trying to access services at the Lands Commission,” the President said as he inaugurated the new board of the National Lands Commission on Thursday.

“To conduct a simple search of the details of a parcel of land for payment is a process that takes weeks, and, if you are not lucky, months,” he noted further.

The President also noted the  “mysterious disappearances of indentures and other land title documents from the Lands Commission, only for them to be replaced with documents belonging to others,”  as a marker of the corruption occurring at the commission.

“Indeed, it appears that, for the right amount of money, any transaction, legal or illegal, can be procured at the Lands Commission.  It is deeply regrettable that the very problems that led to the establishment of the Lands Commission and the implementation of a land administration reform programme, through the Land Administration Projects, still persist,” he said.

Solutions in NPP’s promises

As a solution to these problems, President Akufo-Addo charged the Board to look in the direction of policies contained in the New Patriotic Party’s 2016 Manifesto.

In line with the manifesto promises, he charged the board to speed up land services and enhance the accuracy of land certificates and records by digitizing the Lands Commission’s operations.

President Akufo-Addo also mandated the Board to ensure that the turnaround time for land registration was reduced to 30 working days and fully decentralise the Lands Commission to the district level to reduce the cost of land services.

“This is a heavy charge I give to you, members of the newly constituted Board of the National Lands Commission, and it is my hope and expectation that you will ensure the full and speedy implementation of these initiatives,” the President said.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post End corruption at Lands Commission – Nana Addo to Board appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The new office complex which is to ensure a better working environment for workers to deliver efficient and value for money services to the public.

During a tour of the facility, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources Minister, John Peter Amewu indicated that the complex would ensure a speedy and less cumbersome process of land acquisition and registration especially in the region.

He added that it will also provide a single window of client service provision, as well as bring all the agencies involved in the acquisition of land under one roof.

The project is supported by the World Bank.

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By: Kojo Agyeman/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, the Lands and Natural Resources Minister, John Amewu, also ordered that the school’s staff be reassigned.

Thus, “students are directed to vacate the school premises and the hostel facilities with immediate effect,” Mr. Amewu said.

Tensions at the school escalated when students clashed with land guards on the school’s premises in protest against the sale of their school land by the Lands Commission on Tuesday, May 2, 2017.

“I direct the management of the Lands Commission to ensure that the staff at the school should be re-assigned other duties that would effectively support the agenda to reduce the turnaround time in land title registration in the country.”

Following the developments, Mr. Amewu served further notice during the press conference that “since the project site has been handed over to the contractors, unauthorized persons are not to be permitted on the premises and the contractors to take full responsibility of the site.”

He also advised contractors to “remove all unauthorized structures on the project site.”

MP backs sale of school land for shopping mall

In December 2016,  a Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Lands and Forestry, Albert Abongo, condemned a demonstration by students of the Ghana School of Surveying and Mapping over what they say claim is an illegal sale of their land to a private developer.

Allegations are that the land has been sold to some foreign investors to build a shopping mall but the students argue that the Lands Commission failed to consult them before taking the decision.

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By: Kojo Agyeman/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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A client, who had gone to the place to transact business and gave his name as Emmanuel, told Citi News that the thugs went to the office in two NDC branded pickups.

“Around 10:20am, I went there to do business and when I got there the gate was closed. I saw policemen all over and all of us who had come to do business were outside; and I saw two pickups in NDC colours. There were about 12 people in each of the pickups. They were dressed in fugu [Smock]. When I asked what had happened, I was told that these people had come in with their leader to beat the chief executive officer and that the issue had to do with some land case.”

Emmanuel said he was told the Chief Executive was attacked because he did not yield to the demands of the leader of the thugs.

Emmanuel further added that, the Police later came in to restore calm, adding that, work at the commission came to a standstill for a while.

“…So while waiting for the gate to be opened, I saw the chief executive officer being whisked away by some police officers and the two pickups were also under arrest by the police. Currently, the Police have brought in a backup at the lands commission. I can count more than 30 police officers who came to bring the situation under control.”

“Normal work is going on but there are still backup police officers at the place to forestall any further scuffle,” Emmanuel added.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Suspected NDC thugs attack Lands Commission boss appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.