Professor Kasim Kasanga, Minister of Lands and Forestry, on Friday said the government's ambition of creating an enabling environment for private sector development would only be achieved if land acquisition and titling process were made less expensive, speedy, transparent and less complicated.
In a speech read on his behalf at the 33rd annual general meeting of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors, Prof. Kasanga said it was vital that safe and secure land was made available for the envisaged private capital inflow.
"In the past many investors, upon the invitation of government, came with the intention of investing in Ghana but soon realised the inherent difficulties in the land acquisition procedure.
"They gave up on the system and repatriated their vital investment capital and expertise to the detriment of the nation," he said. The theme for the meeting is "Land Acquisition and Compensation in the Golden Age for Business".
Prof. Kasanga said many years after those painful lessons, the acquisition process has not seen much improvement. "The state institutions established to infuse professionalism into the land delivery system have themselves become the subject of public disparagement for being slow and insensitive to the needs of the public.
"The land documentation and registration procedures are still manual and convoluted even in this age of technological advancement."
Prof. Kasanga reiterated that the government was reviewing the land acquisition process to ensure that request for public land acquisition would only be sanctioned after funds for the payment of compensation had been deposited in a specified account. "This would ensure that no new compensation debt would be incurred," he said.
The current outstanding compensation, Prof. Kasanga said, would be treated as part of the domestic debt for which its management strategy had been spelt out in the domestic debt repayment strategy in the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS).
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Ministry will not manage community health insurance schemes
Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 09 March 2002 - Ministry of Health (MOH) would not manage community Health Insurance Schemes (HIS) or Mutual Health Organisations (MHOS) being established to replace the cash-and-carry system, Dr Isaac Kofi Asare, Brong-Ahafo Regional Director of Health Services, said at a day's consultative seminar on Thursday.
The seminar was organised by the Sunyani District Assembly to prepare the grounds for the scheme to take off in the district. It was also to ascertain the understanding and knowledge of the people about the scheme as well as their willingness to operate it.
Dr Asare explained that the communities or organisations would manage the insurance schemes whilst the ministry would give the guidelines for their effective management. Participants at the seminar included representatives of public and civil service organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and traditional rulers.
Dr Asare explained that monies generated by the MHOS would be used strictly to guarantee and promote members' health security and cautioned against the money being used to promote social activities like the payment of funeral donations to members.
