Digitization & decentralization key to ending land registration problems in Ghana – Expert

A geoscientist with the University of Cape Coast, Dr. Ebenezer Ankomah Gyamera has called on government to expedite efforts aimed at digitizing the land administration process in the country.

The move, he says will not only help deal with the recurring issue of lost papers and other unhealthy practices at the Lands Commission but will also help gather accurate and better information on the land situation in the country especially in easily determining land size and cross checking registered lands.

Government’s decision to digitize the process by calling on the private sector to assist, he added is a laudable one as it will allow experts to contribute in making the process and its end product best in withstanding existing and emerging challenges in terms of land registration .

The private sector and other experts, he explains will be afforded the opportunity to come on board with the best of softwares and expertise to beef up existing plan of government to help make the project a success.

Speaking in an interview with EIBs Central regional Correspondent Kwaku Baah-Acheamfour, the land expert Dr. Ebenezer Ankomah Gyamera who is also the Executive Director of Gyam Engineering and Construction Works Limited, a renowned firm in Cape Coast, also called on government as a matter of urgency to decentralise the work of the regional Lands Commission.

The decentralisation ,he says is also key in dealing with the delay in the land registration processes and in dealing with issue of double ownership of land and in other cases stolen lands.

The establishment of district offices, he explained will deal with the said issues since it will be easier for land to be verified at the district level than at the regional level.

“The people are at the district level and they know who owes which land and so for somebody to register a land that doesn’t belong to him will be difficult.

The people can easily be called upon to attest to such ownership or otherwise before registration takes place thereby avoiding theft and double ownership of land in the land registration process”.

Dr. Gyamera also added that the district offices will also ultimately help cut down on cost and the burden of covering long distances and subsequent trips one has to make to the regional Land Commissions offices in their quest to register lands.

He also urged a collaborative approach with the traditional authorities in the land registration process.
The chiefs, he explains are the custodians of the lands and should be given the opportunity to endorse such forms of ownership of land before registration takes place.

This, he said will clear all doubts of potential thefts , double sales and other ownership problems that characterise land registration and ownership in Ghana.

“Before the land is registered , the chiefs must be brought on board to endorse the form for registration in consultation with other land owners and families who are selling such lands so as to avoid future challenges which come with land sales.

The chiefs know the land and they can do a good ,verification job to avoid double sales and other registration and ownership challenges that come with lands in Ghana” he added.