Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
VICE PRESIDENT Bawumia is pushing a vigorous agenda to ‘slay’ what he calls ‘demons and principalities’ in the country’s land administration system.
According to the Vice President, this will instill some sanity in Ghana’s land administration and curtail the high incidence of land disputes and land guards.
He has therefore established a liaison unit at his office (at the Jubilee House) toward achieving this goal.
Speaking at a national symposium on the new Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036), held in Accra yesterday, the Vice President said the unit will collaborate with the Lands Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, to assist in the expeditious digitisation of land records.
Dr Bawumia noted that “a robust digitisation of land administration will help us slay this dragon, demons and principalities in the country’s land administration.”
The forum, held on the theme, “The Land Act, 2020(Act1036): The Way Forward towards Effective Land Administration in Ghana,” brought together key stakeholders including academia, members of the Judiciary, Parliamentary Select Committee on Lands and Natural Resources, traditional rulers, the Land Bill Working Group and civil society organisations, to make inputs into the effective dissemination and implementation of the legislation.
The new Act is a revision, harmonization and consolidation of 13 old land laws aimed at ensuring effective and efficient land administration and addressing the myriad of challenges in the land sector.
Act 1036 was approved by Parliament in July 2020 and assented to by President Akufo-Addo on December 23, 2020.
It provides protection to spousal rights and stiffer punishments to persons who breach the provisions of the law.
According to Dr Bawumia, “the importance of an effective and efficient land sector in Ghana cannot be overemphasized” since “every economic activity undertaken by man has a relation to land and, therefore, land remains critical to national development.”
To address such critical challenges in the land sector, he stressed the need to optimize the contribution of land to the socio-economic development of the country, insisting that “the Akufo-Addo-led government is committed to change through the application of technology. Ghana can only make the much-needed strides in development when technology becomes the driver for all sectors of the economy.”
He continued that “I am particularly excited that Electronic Conveyancing, which can only be realised by establishing a robust digitised land sector agency, has been incorporated in the Land Act,” he emphasised.
He noted that laws, by themselves, do not resolve problems, and was confident that the effective application of such laws will result in the desired changes in the land sector.
He thus emphasised the need for all stakeholders to rally together to ensure that the provisions of the new Land Act are implemented effectively, and resources channeled towards its operationalisation.
Dr Bawumia additionally asked the sector Minister to give urgent support and the needed directives to the agencies.
He added that the participation of the private sector was essential, especially in the injection of capital and technical know-how in targeting specific key improvements in the infrastructure and operations of the Lands Commission.
Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, in a remark, assured that his outfit would embark on nationwide sensitisation campaigns to educate the citizens on the provisions of the law.
That, he said, would expedite the desired land reforms in the country. He, thus, called on all stakeholders to rally together towards ensuring effective implementation of the Act.
The Minister further emphasized that “it takes capital investment to achieve transformation, but I want to submit that capital investment without dedication and commitment of officials charged, with responsibility of implementing the reforms, will come to a naught.”
Executive Secretary of the Lands Commission, Alhaji Sulemana Mahama, after giving the historical antecedent of the Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), thanked individuals, groups and associations who helped in the process and the final delivery of the Act.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent