Ghana Stool Lands to Go Digital

The Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands has joined hands with Lands Commission in the digitalization of land management in the country, a move the Deputy Minister For Lands and Natural Resources, Honorable Benito Owusu-Bio called a step in the right direction.

As the various sectors of the economy goes digital, the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands (OASL) which falls under the ministry, was highly commended and encouraged to continue in the good work of digitization of their operations by the deputy minister.

Hon. Benito made these remarks during a ceremony to grace the 24th Annual Review Conference held at the Volta Hotel, Akosmbo on the theme “OASL @ 25, Accessing the Past, Redefining the Future of Customary Land Administration.”

He said digitalizing the operations of the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands and making efforts towards acquiring more Regional and District offices are steps to make land transactions better in the country. This comes after several efforts are being made to bring land administration services to the doorstep of the people.

He applauded the Administrator and her staff for their role in the socio-economic development of the country saying “the role of OASL in the Socio-economic development of the country cannot be underestimated, this can be seen in how revenue mobilized over the years have been used by the district assemblies.

Improving the Land Acquisitions Process

The deputy minister said it is the expectation of the ministry that the OASL will continue to collaborate with the Lands Commission to facilitate the establishment of Customary Lands Secretariat to improve customary lands administration at the local level.

This, he said, will go a long way to minimize land related disputes and conflicts in the country.

“Traditional authorities have also been seen to use their portion of the stool land revenue in the development within the communities like building of libraries and scholarship scheme for their subjects. All these have been made possible because of your hard work as an office” he said.

The deputy minister believes that if appropriate strategies are put in place, Ghana’s Natural Resources will have the potential to contribute significantly not only to the progressive socio-economic and political development of the country but also to the transformation of the economy.

Future Growth

In his remarks, he disclosed that the ministry has plans to implement policies that will stimulate growth in the land and natural resources sector, stressing that one of the main policies is to liaise with the Ministry of Finance to secure clearance for the employment of right mix of staff to support the agencies particularly in the Regions and Districts.

Hon. Benito used the opportunity to congratulate OASL on their 25years in good administration of the Stool Lands in the country and hoped that the next 25years will even be better.

He urged staff and Management of the OASL to delve deep and bring ideas that will improve the fortunes of the Office in the years to come and also intensify publicity on all fronts to sensitise the general public on their obligations to pay rent, dues, royalties and all other payments to boost revenue generation.

He assured OASL of the ministry’s preparedness to assist them saying that the ministry will put in place the necessary support mechanisms to help the OASL achieve it mandate as enshrined in the enabling Acts and Regulations.

Administrator of Stool Lands Commitment

The Administrator of Stool Lands, Surveyor, Mrs. Maame Ama Edumadze-Acquah in her opening statement, thanked the Minister for gracing the occasion saying that it’s an absolute privilege to attend their 24th Annual Review Conference.

She said the purpose of the Annual Conference is to assess the activities of the previous year (2021), identify shortfalls and find ways to improve them.

She disclosed that during the year 2021, the efforts of the OASL culminated into mobilizing an amount of GHC 105,677,023.09 which is about 80% of their annual target, adding that 90% of this amount has been disbursed to their beneficiaries for development in the various communities and traditional areas.

Source: Real Estate Times Africa