By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Bolgatanga, Oct 27, GNA – A Regional Office of the Office of Administrator of Stool Lands (OASL) has been inaugurated in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, making it the 10th region to have a regional office.
The establishment of the regional office of the OASL is to help forge a deeper collaboration between the Office and its stakeholders to promote and enhance better and sustainable customary land administration practices in the region.
The Office is also expected to help to improve Stool Lands revenue mobilisation and disbursement to traditional authorities, and Municipal and District Assemblies in the region to facilitate local level development.
The OASL begun its operations in the Upper East Region in 2008 in Bolgatanga, under the Lands Commission, however, the number progressively increased to three offices with Bolgatanga upgraded into a full district office in 2012.
With the elevation of the Bolgatanga office to a Regional Office, the Office of the OASL, currently has district offices at Bawku, Paga, Sandema and Fumbisi.
At a short ceremony in Bolgatanga to formally inaugurate the Office, Mrs Maame Ama Edumadze Acquah, the Administrator of Stool Lands, said the establishment of the regional office was in response to President Akufo-Addo’s challenge for most institutions to have regional offices to enhance participation and bring their services to closer to the people.
She said over the years, the Office had lived up to its mandate by mobilising skin lands revenue and disbursed to its beneficiaries to promote development and the new Regional Office would further strengthen such efforts.
“I therefore wish to commend both past and present officers of the various District Assemblies and chiefs for effectively using their portion of the stool land revenue to change the socio-economic lives of their citizens through the development project they undertake,” she said.
Mrs Acquah reiterated the commitment of government to ensure that the land administration system in the country including land registration and rental payments was strengthened and streamlined to make it attractive for investors and lessees for sustainable national development.
“The OASL currently in collaboration with GIZ is digitalising its operations throughout the country. This entails spatial identification of property owners /lessees to facilitate the payment of rent. This is aimed at addressing the fundamental challenges in revenue mobilisation to help achieve the Ghana Beyond Aid Agenda,” she added.
Mrs Acquah therefore called for stakeholder collaboration especially from the traditional authorities to ensure improved skin land administration in the region.
“Lack of collaboration and cooperation, greediness, persistently long and unnecessary litigations and unwillingness to abide by simple customary practices and procedures have empowered infiltrators into allocation of parcels of land to unsuspected members of the public to develop without recourse to planning, demarcation, allocation, documentation and registration rules.
“These challenges can only be dealt with if traditional authorities could resolve their petty differences, stop the unnecessary litigations and close their ranks to work in tandem with the statutory land administration institutions and the Regional Coordinating Council,” she advised.
Mr Stephen Yakubu, the Upper East Regional Minister, explained that land litigations had saddled some parts of the region and expressed the hope that the Office would help sanitise the system especially among traditional authorities.
Naba Baba Salifu Atamale Lemyaarum, the Paramount Chief of the Bongo Traditional Area, commended the OASL for decentralising its operations, adding that it was a relief to the traditional leaders as it would strengthen customary land administration in their traditional areas.
He, however, appealed to the chiefs and tindaanas (land owners) to work together to avoid land disputes and help fish out land sale miscreants.
GNA