Land Ownership issues killing real estate in Ghana (part 1)

I think having land and not ruining it is the most beautiful art that anybody could ever want to own. -Andy Warhol

Land is always an issue. The farmer, government, chiefs, developers, companies and individuals have issues with land ownership.
Ghana with a population of 25 million is a very poor country. Formerly known as the Gold Coast (Land of Gold), it was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence from Britain in 1957.
However, rapid development is hounding the nation due to land ownership issues which turns to delay national development projects.
Under the 1992 Constitution, there were two types of land ownership; the stool lands system whereby the traditional authorities and family heads were responsible, and Government lands.
Interestingly, some of the traditional leaders are ignorant of the constitutional provisions regarding land and land title issues in the country.
As part of measures to improve on the land administration system in the country the government must embark on mapping and surveying of lands to create boundaries.
The Ministry of lands and forestry must resource the office of Stool Lands and the Town and Country Planning Department, to address issues of land planning.
The President of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors, Mr. Daniel Kofi Kyere stated that numerous boundary disputes that had led to chieftaincy misunderstanding and death would have been prevented if the state had adequately utilized the expertise of a surveyor.
According to him, the government map up strategies to solve the land ownership crisis.
Mr. Daniel Kofi Kyere says potential buyers should first consult the appropriate agencies involved in legally acquiring property, since identifying legal ownership can be a problem.
The Managing Director of State Housing Company, Dr Mark Nii Ankrah lamented that land encroachment has been a major concern in the industry. He stated the security agencies should team up and protect and prevent state and individual properties from been encroached.

The UN Habitat stated that Secure land tenure and property rights are fundamental to shelter and livelihoods, and a cornerstone for the realisation of human rights and for poverty reduction. Secure land rights are particularly important in helping reverse gender discrimination, social exclusion of vulnerable groups, and wider social and economic inequalities linked to inequitable and insecure access to land.

On the margins of the Sahara in Mali and Guinea-Conakry, the key question at every farmer’s focus group was whether or not they owned the land that they farmed. Land was an issue.
Mozambique and Angola, bullet-holes still in buildings and wrecked aircraft dotting the jungle below, not water, not food, but  land was the key issue.


Mr. Mike Hammah, Minister of Land and Forestry announced that a Land Bill was in the offing will help address challenges in the land administration, and said a secretariat would be established to regulate the use of land in the country, to avoid mismanagement and other critical land issues.

How do land issues get resolved? Well, basically someone has to give up land that they own. Ideally it would be the government.

“To be a poor man is hard, but to be a poor race in a land of dollars is the very bottom of hardships.” – W.E.B. Du Bois

By: Samuel Mantey
Property Express
Email: Sammyoo3@yahoo.com