By Joyce Danso
Accra, Nov. 25, GNA – The National Democratic Congress (NDC) would review and update Ghana’s 25-year-old National Land Policy to make it more responsive.
Dr Gad Asorwoe Akwensivie, a Land Expert, said in the NDC next government the revised policy would ensure efficient and equitable land resources distribution.
Dr Akwensivie said the revised policy would ensure affordable access to land for housing and other developmental initiatives in conformity with the Land Act 2020 (Act 1036).
“Apart from reviewing and upgrading the old land policy to international standard, the Mahama in his next administration proposes to improve customary land administration which he believes, would cut back land conflicts and litigation that have clogged the Ghanaian Court system.
In a statement copied to the GNA, Dr Akwensivie said the NDC Presidential Candidate, John Mahama, appreciated the fact that the growing frequency of litigation in Ghana’s law courts have contributed largely to the slow disposal of court cases and the fact that land related conflicts have stalled both private and public development projects and compounded Ghana’s struggle to attract foreign investments.
His comments come after some land buyers have complained that the land market had been characterised by multiple sales of land, frequent litigation and weak land administration regime among others.
He said in Mahama’ next government, customary land authorities would be “incentivized to survey and map out their boarders for the production boundary plans that would be registered.”
“This, Mahama believes would help sanitize customary land management and administration by traditional authorities to attract investment whiles bolstering land tenure security.”
According to him, John Mahama had proposed to set up a Presidential Commission to tackle protracted land problems and contests instigated by overlapping claims and conflicting court judgements, return of acquired and vested lands to original owners as well as the payment of compensation claims to stools, families and clans.
“Citizens should expect improvement in service delivery by state land agencies such as the lands Commission, the office of the Administrator of Stool Land, the Land Use and Spatial planning Authority and the Geological Survey Authority.
Starting from the Greater Accra Region, John Mahama proposes to introduce a Citizens Service Delivery Charter to streamline and publish service delivery timelines with an ambitious target of a 30-dayturn around time for Land Title Registration and a 20-day turn-around time for the registration of mortgages among others,” the Land Expert said.
He said the current public land allocation regime would be reviewed and revised with a framework that restores trust, confidence and transparency while eliminating abuse of administrative power by public office holders and political appointees.
“Issues to relating to large-scale, land acquisition would be reviewed to safeguard the rights of women, the youth and vulnerable groups and address inefficiencies and inequities with land resources allocation.
These proposals would be fused into the Building-The-Ghana- We Want Together, Policy-to build Ghana, where the vulnerable including women and the youth are protected and empowered.”
GNA