Too many land cases pending before the courts

Sunyani, (B/A), Aug. 25, GNA - About 35,000 land cases are pending before the various courts, reflecting an ad hoc land management and administration system in the country, Dr Odame Larbi, Technical Director of Ministry of Lands and Forestry said on Monday.

He was addressing the opening of a two-day Brong-Ahafo Regional Consultative Meeting on Land Administration Project (LAP) in Sunyani. The meeting, which will discuss the first phase of the proposed LAP, is attended by staff of Lands Commission, Survey Department, Town and Country Planning Department, Land Valuation Board, Office of the Administration of Stool Lands and some of the Project's implementing agencies including District Chief Executives and District Co-ordinating Directors.

Dr Larbi said the meeting was also to get the participants acquainted with the Project regarding its plans, problems and its benefits to the nation in land tenure administration. Dr Larbi announced that the Project is a long-term one that would cover 15 to 20 years, with the first five-year period starting from 2004.

The Project will need 54.5 million dollars. Already, some financial agencies including International Donor Agency (IDA), Department of Federation of International Development (DFID), Nordic Development Fund (NDF), Konrad Foundation (KFW), and German Development Agency (GTZ) have donated towards it, he said.

Dr Larbi added that such financial assistance were in loans or grants.

There are four main components of LAP, with the first one embodying policy guidelines on laws, regulations and finance and fees structure of land administration, revision of laws and regulations for all effective land administration.

He explained that the major activities of the second component would include the establishment of one-step centres in Accra and Kumasi, strengthening of 86 customary land secretariats throughout the country, reinforcement of private sector institutions like the Ghana Bar Association and resource Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Kumasi Polytechnic.