Accra. May 15, GNA – The National House of Chiefs has rejected a Constitutional Review Committee recommendation to merge the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands with the Lands Commission.
The House said the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands (OASL), established as an independent constitutional body under Article 267(2) of the 1992 Constitution, must remain under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
A statement issued in Accra by Mrs Janet Naa Adjetey Adjeley, Principal Registrar, on behalf of the National House of Chiefs, said the proposed merger would not benefit the chieftaincy institution and would defeat the purpose for which the OASL was created.
The House recalled that chiefs on the Consultative Assembly before the promulgation of the 1992 Constitution requested the establishment of the OASL following concerns over the management of stool land revenue by the then Lands Commission.
It said the Office was established to ensure the efficient collection and management of stool land revenue from rents, royalties and concessions, promote accountability and transparency, and support traditional authorities in land administration.
The statement said the OASL had also helped to ensure fair distribution of stool land revenue, protected stool lands and supported the establishment of Customary Land Secretariats.
“Even though stools own the land under customary law, the office manages the financial proceeds so that the funds benefit both traditional authorities and local development,” it said.
The House argued that the recommendation to merge the two institutions would relegate stool and skin land matters to the background and increase bureaucratic processes for beneficiaries seeking access to funds.
“The proposed merger will relegate issues of stool and skin lands to the background. The OASL helps with the establishment of Customary Land Secretariats (CLSs), and provides land administration advisory services to the chiefs,” the statement said.
The House also expressed concern over litigations and garnishee orders affecting the Lands Commission, saying such challenges could place stool land revenue at risk.
It rejected suggestions that the two institutions were operating in silos, explaining that existing laws already required collaboration between the OASL and the Lands Commission on customary land administration.
The statement contended that previous reforms under the Lands Commission Act, 2008 (Act 767), which merged four land sector agencies, had not produced the expected improvements in land administration.
“The merger of these four land sector agencies has rather worsened challenges that led to the merger,” it stated.
The House said the Lands Commission had struggled to manage state and vested lands effectively, resulting in controversies, delays in the release of ground rent and inadequate records on vested land revenue.
It also noted that concerns over inefficiency, delays, lack of transparency and mismanagement of stool land revenue by the former Lands Commission informed the decision to establish a separate constitutional body for stool lands administration.
The House therefore called on Government to strengthen the OASL instead of merging it with the Lands Commission by improving its operational capacity and granting financial clearance for the recruitment of additional staff.
It said the customary land sector controlled about 80 per cent of Ghana’s landmass and required a well-resourced independent institution to manage it effectively.
The House also proposed an expansion of the Office’s mandate to cover other customary lands to support local development projects through increased revenue mobilisation.
“The National House of Chiefs is therefore of the view that the status-quo should remain. If something is not broken, why do you fix it?’
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Joyce Danso
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