Government is determined to providing the requisite equipment, modern technology and infrastructure for efficient land administration in Ghana, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resource, said on Monday.
He said government had begun processes towards establishing public-private partnerships to revolutionise the land administration regime to engender economic growth.
“Land is one of the most consequential issues, which every Minister of Lands and Natural Resources will have to deal with, its implications on the national economy, security and stability of our country, individual lives and businesses are far-reaching,” the Minister said.
“Therefore the management of the land sector is so important and its ramifications are enormous because it affects every aspects of our national life.”
Mr Jinapor made the remarks in a keynote address delivered at the opening of a four-day Management Retreat of the Lands Commission in Accra.
It is on the theme: “Achieving Institutional Excellence in Land Service Delivery through Modern Technology, Human Resource Development and Private Sector Participation”.
The meeting brought together senior management members of the Lands Commission, regional land officers across the 16 regions and unit heads to brainstorm on land management and chart the way forward towards improving land services in the country.
Land administration, Mr Jinapor said, had a consequential effect on the national economy, hence the need for stakeholders to work collaboratively to ensure efficient land services, adding: “We need to do so on the basis of integrity and transparency”.
“Everywhere I have been to, there’s either an issue about land concerning families, tribes or companies.”
The recent digitalisation of the land records, especially in the Greater Accra Region, was yielding positive results and more work must be done to achieve ultimate client satisfaction, he said.
The Minister called for hard work, team work and improved supervision of land services across the various land units to achieve the set goals.
He pledged to provide the necessary leadership and advocate land reforms in order to attract the requisite investment in the sector.
On the public-private partnerships, the Minister gave the assurance that government would ensure that any partnership it entered into with a private entity was legally appropriate to ensure value for money.
Mr Alex Quaynor, the Chairperson, Lands Commission, in his welcome remarks, underlined the need for capacity-building to improve the skills and technical expertise of management and staff of the Commission.
Digitisation was just one aspect of reforming the land administration but there should be emphasis on supervision of services, modern technology, equipment, staff welfare and good working conditions towards a holistic service satisfaction.
Madam Yvonne Sowah, the Greater Accra Regional Land Chairperson, called for attitudinal change and mind-set by staff and key stakeholders to achieve the desired results.
