LET'S HAVE SANITY IN LAND ADMINISTRATION (OCT 9, 2009)

TIME is running out for the statutory authorities to ensure that we have wholesome houses or accommodation in sprawling cities such as Accra where everybody is a practising developer because many residents think it is better to have one’s own house.
The practice has aggravated the chaotic situation in land use and tenure system in the country, especially when the system is not governed by any policy or regulatory framework. In some cases, there are conflicting claims of ownership of land.
There is another challenge — the fraudulent and multiple sale of land, leading to the situation where land guards are unleashed on innocent citizens by certain developers who want to protect their property.
The protection of life and property is the sole responsibility of the police but because they have been overwhelmed by the sheer enormity of the problem, it is left to individual developers to safeguard their investments.
The DAILY GRAPHIC supports the move by the Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GIS) in drafting the Survey Council Bill and the Estates Agency Bill to regulate the system and encourage the prosecution of land guards and others who disregard statutory regulations.
We agree with the standpoint of the President of the GIS, Mr Osei Asante, that the chaotic and haphazard development in the country, particularly in Accra, was due to poor planning and disregard for the use of the services of professionals in the planning and development of the country.
Indeed, the challenges on the land market are compounded by those who do not have security to their titles and others who are just common criminals bent on creating confusion and pain to law-abiding citizens.
We should also take a critical look at the granting of permits by the statutory authorities because delays in the granting of permits to prospective developers can compel some developers to bend the rules.
The DAILY GRAPHIC encourages prospective developers to talk to the right professionals in the construction industry in order to address the chaos in the system because any land litigation has the potential to scare away prospective investors.
At the heart of the chaos in the system is the desire by everybody to own a house. Therefore, in addressing the housing problems, we should design policies that will take care of the needs of people in the lower brackets of society.
We think a systematic land use policy will put a stop to the phenomenon where people encroach on lands reserved for public use, so that the authorities can put order into the disorder in all settlements in the country.
The DAILY GRAPHIC calls on the government to empower statutory authorities such as the Town and Country Planning Department to enforce the regulations governing spatial planning and development.
We think the lack of consistency in determining the ministry under which the department falls also gives the impression that there is no clear-cut direction on spatial planning.
The DAILY GRAPHIC believes all is not lost yet, as the government can put in place the mechanisms to restore sanity into land acquisition and development in the country.