Implement Act 767 to decentralize Lands Commission-Kwame Gyan
“If someone buys land at Ada or Dodowa, he or she has to come to 37 to get them registered. Similarly, if one buys just a plot of Land at Afram Plains, he has to send it to Koforidua,
A lecturer and private legal practitioner, Kwame Gyan has wondered why the Lands Commission has delayed in implementing Lands Commission Act 2008(Act 767) to decentralize its offices.
According to him, this Act passed in 2008, was meant to enable the Lands Commission to establish District Offices to ease the burden of Ghanaians relative to Land Registration and searches.
“In 2008, the government passed the Lands Commission Act(Act 767). I worked together with Dr.Odame Larbi and Mrs. Ofori Boateng to get it passed. Those days there was Lands Commission, Land Valuation Board, Land Evaluation Board, and Survey Department that were all independent,” he said.
“These offices were merged in 2008. However, each of them retained its records. Therefore the existing problem was that whenever one did a land title search, they had to go to each of these offices to do some searches which sometimes gave conflicting records,” he added.
Speaking on Neat FM on October 7, 2021, he further appreciated the burden and complexity of work that is done by the only Land Registration Division of the Lands Commission, which serves the whole Country.
“The Lands Registration Division which is at Airport, Accra serves the whole of the country despite its small office space. I’m happy to know that the Lands Commission is almost through with a bigger office behind Golden Tulip,” he indicated.
The Lands Commission has indicated that Greater Accra Region would cease to issue separate search reports from its three (3) divisions effective October 1, 2021.
“The Public is hereby notified that from 1st October 2021, the Lands Commission, Greater Accra Region will no longer issue separate search reports from its divisions(Public and vested Land Management Division(PVLMD), Land Registration Division(LRD), and Survey and Mapping Division(SMD),” it stated.
Additionally, Mr Gyan quizzed why the lands Commission has no District Office at Kasoa despite the high land disputes and cases over there.
In conclusion, he bemoaned the struggle Ghanaians go through in getting the services of the Lands Commission especially those outside Accra or the other Regional Capitals.
“If someone buys land at Ada or Dodowa, he or she has to come to 37 to get them registered. Similarly, if one buys just a plot of Land at Afram Plains, he has to send it to Koforidua,” he ended.
