Asantehene urges collaborative efforts

Kumasi, March 24, GNA - The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has called for collaborative efforts between the government and traditional authorities to curb corrupt practices in land administration in the country.

He said a systematic and co-ordinated approach should be adopted in land administration to help eradicate frustrations in land acquisition and also to reduce disputes and double sale of land in the country. Otumfuo Osei Tutu made the call when he received a donation of office equipment for the Asantehene's Land Secretariat at the Manhyia palace in Kumasi on Wednesday.

The equipment, donated by the Ministry of Lands and Forestry as part of the government's land administration project, consists two computers and their accessories, office cabinet, four executive desks and chairs, two air conditioners, a photocopier, fax machine, a printer, a steel cupboard and eight office chairs.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu deplored the current state of confusion surrounding land acquisition and said the situation had led to corrupt practices in the system.

He announced that his land secretariat would introduce modern technologies in its operations and thanked the Ministry for the support. Professor Dominic Fobih, Minister of Lands and Forestry, who presented the equipment, said they were meant to enhance the work of the staff at the secretariat.

He said the aim of the land administration project was to ensure that ownership rights of citizens, as well as tenants, were clarified and documented while at the same time strengthen conflict resolution mechanisms to ensure quick settlement of disputes between divisions, families, individuals and tenants without resulting to the law courts. Prof Fobih explained that the project was not intended to change the customary practices or ownership rights of chiefs and other traditional rulers, but to ensure that the principles of equity, fairness and good neighbourliness were promoted.