Working towards an effective land tenure system

One of the issues that have bedevilled the country’s development for a very long time is the lack of a proper land tenure system that affords Ghanaians access to land without stress.

This has led to total anarchy in the land sector, where the same plot of land is sold to many people by either the same landowner or different people laying claim to that piece of land, without the unsuspecting buyers knowing that the land they have purchased has been sold to others.

 There have been instances when there have been clashes over a piece of land, even when the development of the land by the original owner had already begun in earnest.

The multiple sale of land by greedy individuals, families and traditional authorities has given rise to the phenomenon of land guards, which involves the hiring of thugs or macho men to protect pieces of land.

These land guards have become a threat to the security of the state, as many wield guns and deadly weapons with which t

The killing of two police constables by land guards at Ablekuma in 1999 and the subsequent arrest of the culprits 15 years later are still fresh on our minds.

The desire to acquire land by individuals has largely been fuelled by the lack of a housing policy in Ghana that ensures that everyone is comfortably housed.

Aside from the fact that Ghana does not have any serious land tenure system to ensure equitable, smooth and peaceful land transactions, the government has also not helped matters through the way it has conducted its compulsory acquisition of land as allowed by the 1992 Constitution.

The death of one person and injury to two others at Kasoa in the Central Region yesterday when military men deployed by an estate firm to supervise a demolition exercise fired warning shots to disperse protesters must be a wake-up call to all concerning the security threat we all face from land issues.

We need the right policies to ensure sanity in the land sector and we urge all stakeholders, such as traditional authorities, estate developers and the government, to work together to achieve that.

The Land Administration Project (LAP) initiated by the government to improve security of land tenure, simplify the process for accessing land and make it fair, transparent and efficient, as well as develop the land market and foster prudent land management, must be made to work to end the needless demolition of properties and loss of lives.