National Queen Mothers' platform grateful to COLANDEF for workshop on Land Rights

The National Queen Mothers' platform of Ghana have expressed their gratitude to COLANDEF for the eye-opening workshop and training on Land Rights.

COLANDEF organized a two-day workshop training on Land Rights for Queen Mothers across the 16 regions in Ghana from Thursday, February 23 to Friday, February 24, 2023, at the Golden Key Hotel in East Legon, Accra.

According to Nana Amponsah Dokua III, the president of the National Queen Mothers' platform, the workshop has been an eye-opener for them because they didn't know they have rights to certain benefits on landed resources.

She added that they will do their best to relay what they have learnt to their other members so that they can start demanding what is due them as stated in Ghana's constitution.

"Personally I have learnt many things today that I didn't know about before this workshop and I'm happy about it. Today we have even learnt that you have to find out about the interest of land before you lease it out."

"We have also learnt that because you agreed on the number of years you will lease out the land, you need to know about what the land will be used for and that will inform your decision on the years you will lease it out for. "

"I'm going to inform my Paramount Chief when I leave here about what I have learnt with the documents about the rights I have on landed properties as a Queen Mother," she said.



Nana Amponsah Dokua III also pleaded with the government that it is time that they validate the National Queen Mothers' platform with a legislative instrument for them to have a seat at the table.

"We had to mobilize ourselves because we were being sidelined by the Chiefs even though the Constitution recognizes us as members of the association. So we are calling on the government to hear us and also validate us. We also need a seat at the table because it doesn't look like the National House of Chiefs are ready to accommodate us."

Executive Director of COLANDEF, Nana Ama Yirrah also stated that the training will help the Queen Mothers to educate their subjects about Land Rights because Ownership of land goes beyond possession.



She added that it was also for the Queens mothers to know about their entitlements with regard to the sale of stool lands.

"We are now focusing on the Queen mothers because they are also traditional leaders but are often overlooked and sidelined when it comes to Land Rights and landed resources. They are not part of the decision-making process in land sales at the traditional area level. They are not part of the policy discussions on land and are not part of the beneficiaries from landed resources."

"They are not part of even though their benefits are stipulated in the constitution. So we are doing this training to help them understand the land tenure system in Ghana and the kind of rights they have as Queen Mothers as far as land is concerned," Nana Ama Yirrah stated.

COLANDEF is a non-governmental organisation established, registered and operating in Ghana since November 2004.

They aim at improving land governance and the management of natural resources; enhancing local governance systems; and better gender mainstreaming besides policy advocacy.