Lands and Natural Resources minister, John Peter Amewu, has decried the wanton delays in land title acquisition in the country, and charged the Lands Commission to up its game.
He condemned the practice where some staff of the Commission deliberately delay documents, sometimes for three years, in order to get personal compensation from those accessing the service.
“People intentionally delay processes for others to work on. Others keep them in for personal benefits. It can’t continue that way. It will not benefit you, it will not benefit me, it will not benefit our unborn generation. What would benefit an individual or group of person to acquire all the lands and the wealth in this nation and the country perish?” he stated.
At a familiarisation tour of the Commission, Mr Amewu said the Akufo-Addo government is committed to ensuring a system where land titles are issued to persons in a speedy manner. He argued that the country’s economy cannot progress if the bottlenecks causing the delays are not removed.
“One thing that is of extreme importance to the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is to make sure that the long duration of land title registration in this country is brought to the minimal,” he assured.
He said it is against this background that the New Patriotic Party promised in its manifesto to reduce land title registration from the current 90 to 30 days period maximum, to help woo investors into the country.
The minister again condemned the indiscriminate sale of state lands and tasked the Commission to device the necessary means to stop the negative practice.
He underscored the critical role of the Commission in the overall national growth and development. He said addressing the challenges of the Commission is key to catapulting the development of the country.
Mr Amewu expressed concerns over the limited staff strength, low salary level, inadequate logistics and unfavourable working environment among others of the Commission.
The Lands and Natural Resources Manager, Mr Amewu expressed disgust at the rate at which public lands were being sold to individuals.
He said if what is happening today were the case 50 years ago, there would not have been space for development in the country, and asked the Commission to help end the wanton sales of state lands.
The Executive secretary of the Commission, Dr Wilfred Anim-Odame assured the minister their full cooperation in ensuring that the agenda of the new administration is achieved.
He however ever pleaded with the minister to fast-track efforts at addressing challenges facing the Commission.
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