The Government Assurances Committee of Parliament has sharply criticized the Lands Commission for its failure to provide data on public lands and their usage over the years. The committee contends that this information is crucial for addressing fraudulent activities, including the improper registration of government lands as private properties.
During its meeting on Wednesday, July 31, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the committee chairman, expressed frustration over the lack of progress. He noted, “If this data is put together and provided, it will help all of us. These instances of government lands being registered as private lands and the fraud that is going on at the Lands Commission, as exposed by the Soul Enquirer, the only way to stem this, to prevent this, to forestall this, is to have the data, to put the data together.”
Ablakwa also voiced suspicion about internal resistance at the Lands Commission, stating, “That is why I am clear in my mind that there are elements at the Lands Commission who don’t want the Ghanaian people to have this data.”
In response, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, provided an explanation for the delay. He said, “The Lands Commission for all these years has been operating manually, and it is just recently that we have started making efforts to digitize the records of the Lands Commission.”
Jinapor acknowledged the complexity of the task, explaining, “The information I have from the Commission since I gave them the instructions to compile this list is that compiling the list from the 16 regions of the Lands Commission across the country from 1993 to now is an extraordinary undertaking and therefore they have not been able to put it all together as yet. And so I am unable to provide it now, but there is work in progress.”
Email Daily Mail GH: stories@dailymailgh.com or
Whatsapp: +233(0)509928122
