Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, has praised the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, for the immense role he is playing towards efficient land administration in the Ashanti Region He said he was particularly impressed by his documentation project carried out last year under which a six-month moratorium was granted to land owners and developers to “document title” to their lands at a nominal fee.

A total of about 16,000 property owners benefited from this.

Alhaji Fuseini was inaugurating the 37-member re-constituted Ashanti Regional Lands Commission in Kumasi.

It is chaired by Mr. Frank Osei-Mensah, a Business Executive, and has the Regional Lands Officer, Nana Kwampong Aboah II, as its Secretary.

The Commission would serve a four-year term and has responsibility, among other things, to promote judicious land use and the maintenance of sound ecosystem.

It would additionally ensure that land development is effectively planned and consistent with the nation’s development goals.

The Minister appealed to the members to live up to their responsibility of advising the government, local government authorities and traditional leaders on the policy framework for the development of the Region.

They should also ensure that the development of each parcel of land was compatible with the regional development framework.

Alhaji Fuseini urged the members particularly representatives of the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to serve as liaison between the Lands Commission and the assemblies, soliciting the support of the assemblies in the implementation of land administration reforms.

He urged them to give attention to the problem of encroachment on public lands, unacceptable long turn-around time of land-delivery services and under utilization of supporting staff recruited by the Land Administration Project (LAP) and work hard to tackle them.

Mr. Eric Opoku, the Regional Minister, expressed joy at the completion of an office complex to house all the agencies under the Regional Lands Directorate in Kumasi.

Mr. Osei-Mensah said they would do everything to bring discipline and integrity into land administration in the Region and to take bold initiatives to streamline things.

The members were later sworn-in by the Supervising High Court Judge, Justice Robin B. Batu.