Bolgatanga, Aug 20, GNA - Alhaji Collins Dauda, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, has appealed to the Lands Commission to ensure that reforms are well implemented to make land registration stress free.

This, he said, would reduce the bureaucracy, inefficiencies and frustrations that the public suffered under the old system. "The integrity of the land records must be assured at all times and I expect to see a change in the attitude of staff and work ethics at the Commission to ensure success of the reforms", he told the staff. The Minister said this when he inaugurated the Upper East Regional Lands Commission in Bolgatanga under the Chairmanship of Mr. Alfred Afulani Adjeni, a retired educationist. He said problems with land would continue to be an obstacle to national development if the bottlenecks associated with land administration were not removed and that it was the collective responsibility of the government, the Commission and the public to deal with these problems.

Alhaji Dauda said that lands occupied by the state and its agencies were not well protected and prone to encroachment and called on the Regional Lands Commission to study the situation and advise government on the appropriate course of action to take to secure the lands and also ensure that disputes did not ensue between the state agencies and the land owners. He suggested to the Commission to start by compiling data on lands occupied by the state agencies in the region, saying it was very important because government intended to return lands acquired by the state but were no longer needed.

Alhaji Dauda said the excessive fragmentation of land in the region would not encourage investors as small plots of land were owned by different families and urged the Commission to study the situation and see how best it could be tackled.

He also appealed to land owners be educated to register their lands so that the Commission could help improve the security of tenure that will in turn attract investors into the region. Mrs. Lucy Awuni, Upper East Deputy Regional Minister, expressed concern at the rampant rate at which people in the region, especially those in the Municipal and District capitals, sold their farmlands, their only source of livelihood, for the development of residential accommodation.

"It is significant to note that the region's land resources form the most valuable asset that can be relied upon and used to drive its development. It is equally an asset that can cause or promote strife in society if not properly managed." "I therefore perceive the role of this Commission very vital in giving a sense of direction to the proper management and use of this scarce resource for the sustainable development of this region", she said.

Mrs Awuni said land litigation was too much in the region and urged the commission to create an avenue for employing Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms to lessen land disputes. incur. Mr. Adjeni, said the commission would work in collaboration with the Regional Coordinating Council and the Lands Commission. A new Lands Commission Act, 2008 (ACT 767) was passed by Parliament in 2008. With this Act the Commission is now responsible for all the issues involved in land administration, surveying and mapping, compensation and valuation, land registration and land management. The Survey Department, Land Valuation Board, Land Title Registry and the Lands Commission Secretariat have been brought under a new Lands Commission with four functional divisions. These are Survey and Mapping Division, Land Registration, Land Valuation and Vested Lands Management Divisions. These form the new structure of the Commission and would provide all the land administration services. 20 Aug 09