A Parliamentary Select Committee on Lands and Natural Resources has backed ongoing reforms at the Lands Commission following a working visit to the Commission’s headquarters in Accra, with lawmakers calling for faster digitalisation and district-level decentralisation to reduce persistent land disputes and registration delays.
The Committee, led by Chairman Collins Dauda, toured the facility to assess operations, achievements and challenges, focusing on automation of land services, decentralisation and measures to improve registration processes.
Lands Commission Chairman Dr. Wordsworth Odame-Larbi said the visit offered management an opportunity to brief Parliament on progress made and identify areas requiring legislative support to strengthen service delivery.
Executive Secretary Prof. Anthony Owusu-Ansah told the Committee that reforms already underway include the automation of land services, the operationalisation of Continuous Operating Reference Stations (CORS), the introduction of QR-coded site plans and upgrades to ground rent management systems.
He said plans were far advanced to decentralise Lands Commission services to the district level while expanding the Ghana Enterprise Land Information System nationwide to improve accessibility, efficiency and transparency in land administration.
Owusu-Ansah warned that low staff remuneration and inadequate operational funding continue to constrain service delivery and institutional capacity, appealing to lawmakers for support to improve staff welfare and strengthen the Commission’s effectiveness.
Dauda commended management for what he described as a comprehensive presentation and stressed that the work of the Commission could “make or unmake the country” in relation to land ownership, investment security and urban development.
He urged management to intensify efforts to minimise disputes linked to land registration and ownership documentation, underscoring Parliament’s view that effective land administration is central to Ghana’s broader socio-economic development agenda.
