Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice President and the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flagbearer, has announed a strategy to resolve Ghana’s persistent land disputes by offering free land registration to chiefs and transitioning to a digital land tenure system.
As part of a comprehensive plan to tackle the issues plaguing the land tenure system, Dr. Bawumia has proposed these measures.
In a discussion with the clergy of the Greater Accra Region, Dr. Bawumia pinpointed the exorbitant cost of land registration as a significant barrier that hinders chiefs from securing their lands, which often results in conflicts over land ownership.
He underscored the urgency of updating the land tenure system to align with global standards, drawing inspiration from developed nations where details of land ownership are readily available online.
“Land in many countries, in the advanced world, if you want to know who owns the land, you can find it on your mobile phone, you don’t have to visit the land registry. So we are going to move to marking and digitalising our land. So many land disputes come up because nobody really knows who owns the land.”
“Many people claim ownership and one of the problems we have is that many of the stool lands are not registered. I found out that many of the chiefs find it difficult to pay the registration fee because it’s a bit expensive. So what am I going to do? We are going to provide free registration for all the chiefs.”
In a separate question, Dr Bawumia addressed the controversial National Cathedral project, urging the church to take the lead in finding a way forward, including exploring private-sector funding options.
“The question on the National Cathedral is a very important one. The National Cathedral, I have contributed to it personally and I believe it is a very important thing for Ghana but I think as it stands now, the church has to come together with the government and let us sit down and talk about the way forward for the National Cathedral.
“The church should come together and let’s know the best way forward, how we can even get private resources to help us complete the Cathedral.”