Land Administration Project launches website

Accra, July 18, GNA - The Land Administration Project (LAP) on Wednesday launched its website www.ghanalap.gov.gh in Accra as part of its infrastructure building for a good land administration system. The website is to provide a one-stop access to information on land in Ghana.

It has information on the project and its sector agencies, including Survey Department, Town and Country Planning, Land Valuation Board, Stool Lands, Land Title Registry and the Ministry for Lands, Forestry and Mines.

Launching it, Professor Dominic Kweku Fobih, outgoing sector Minister, said the underlying principle of the website was to provide access to information as well as serve as an interactive platform for the policies and activities being implemented by the Ministry. The challenges facing land administration in the country called for innovation and re-orientation of ideas, he said. Prof. Fobih said with the advancement of technology, access to information and delivery of services had changed considerably and had become key components of good governance.

"The major challenge in developing a website does not lie in the architecture or layout but rather in keeping the site updated at all times," he said.

The Minister urged the site's managers to strive at developing a site that would provide on-line services for land administration. "This will be the end point of the development of the one-stop-shop service delivery principle," he said and added "Information has become a very important tool for development."

The Minister pledged government's support in creating the necessary conditions for change through modernization and institution renewal. Dr. Odame Larbi, Project Director, LAP, urged the public to visit the site daily and give the project feedback to help strengthen the project.

The project, he said, was liaising with the other sector agencies to ensure that all information on the site was up-to-date. Nii Tetteh Kpobi Tsuru III, La Mantse, who chaired the function, said if the website had been in existence long ago all the problems besetting the sector would not have reached current levels. He expressed the hope that the project would be in touch with landowners to capture their concerns and contribution to bring about peace in land administration in Ghana. 18 July 07