Akyawkrom-Ashanti, Jan. 25, GNA - The Administrator of Stool Lands mobilised about 83 billion cedis in revenue from ground, farm rents, timber and minerals last year.

Dr (Mrs) Matilda Esi Fiadzigbey, Administrator of Stool Lands, who announced this said out of the amount about 73.3 billion cedis were disbursed to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, Stools and Traditional Councils as royalties.

She was addressing the opening session of the ninth annual conference of the Office of Administrator of Stool Lands at Akyawkrom-Ashanti in the Ejisu-Juaben District on Wednesday. The conference under the theme, 93Customary Land Administration =96 The Way Forward" was to afford the office an opportunity to interact with major stakeholders and government officials at the local level, management and staff from operational regions in the country. It also marked the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the office mandated by the constitution as the major agency responsible for the mobilisation and disbursement of revenue generated from stool land owning communities.

Dr (Mrs) Fiadzigbey pledged the commitment of the office to facilitate the establishment and strengthening of Customary Land Secretariats and so far 10 pilot customary land secretariats had been established throughout the country.

She was optimistic that decentralisation of land administration would assist her office to fully meet its challenges and opportunities especially in mobilising revenue for development projects by the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies and beneficiaries of royalties.

Professor Dominic Fobih, Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, called on the Administrator of Stool Lands to make conscious efforts to come out with workable solution to ensure the prompt disbursement of timber royalties to beneficiaries.

He gave the assurance that the Ministry would continue to support their activities so that the long-term goal of ensuring a clear, coherent and simple land administration system was achieved. Professor Fobih said it was imperative that the Administrator organised periodic training for staff of its newly established regional secretariats and fashion out ways for them to be sustained.