Ghana’s land administration and management system is being consolidated for efficient and transparent land delivery services under the second phase of the Land Administration Project (LAP-2).

The smooth coordination of the country’s land sector has been hindered by lack of modern information management systems – conflict of interest often ensue among government, traditional leaders and private individuals in the acquisition of land for business or community development projects.

The first phase of the land administration programmme, implemented from 2003-2010, sought to establish an electronic data collection platform, which is crucial to effective planning and policy implementation.

The Town and Country Planning Department (TCPD) has been responsible for the Land Use Planning and Management (LUPMP) sub-component of LAP, which aims to develop a sustainable spatial information service.

This involves the three- tier planning system, involving the preparation of national, regional and district Spatial Development Frameworks as well as structure plans and local plans for the regions and districts.

Chapman Owusu-Sekyere, Acting Director of the Department, says the phase two of the LUPMP would integrate spatial and land use planning into all levels of plans by the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies.

“The three- tier planning system would be further deepened through the up-scaling of pilot activities to more areas, and basic equipment together with the appropriate software would equally be procured to facilitate the implementation of the new planning methodologies”, he told a stakeholder’ forum in Kumasi.

A three-tier land used planning model has been piloted in six districts and under the phase two it would be expanded to cover five districts each in the Greater Accra, Western, Ashanti and Northern regions.

Targeted districts in the Ashanti region are Bosomtwe, Atwima Kwanwoma, Atwima Nwabiagya and Bekwai Municipality.

Citing of markets, recreational, religious and school sites as well as sanitation and vehicular parks has sometimes being a herculean task is some communities.
Ashanti Regional Director of the TCPD, Rosamund Adusei, says the project should lead to proper citing of structures.

“The planning itself will also be participatory”, she said. “So if you’re citing your house and it’s close to a church which should be in the community and you don’t want it, you don’t go in for the plot at all… it will make things more transparent”.

The second phase of the project will run for four years and takes full course in January 2013.

The second phase aims to deepening the institutional reforms, enabling the land sector agencies to be more responsive to clients, cutting down the cost and time of doing business and providing an enabling environment to reflect the objective of an efficient and transparent service delivery.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh