Assemblies in Upper East urged to develop land banks

Bolgatanga, Aug. 3, GNA - Mrs Lucy Awuni, the Upper East Deputy Regional Minister, has urged Municipal and District Assemblies in the region to create land banks and ensure proper layout of lands for orderly development of the area.

She said poor planning of settlements has led to encroachment of lands reserved for road construction, indiscriminate building of structures and houses, resulting in floods that caused deaths and loss of property.

Mrs Awuni made the call at a day's meeting on land use plan and land banks, organized by Tindamas Association (Custodians of Land), for land users, land planning officers and other stakeholders from the region, in Bolgatanga.

The event, sponsored by the Business Sector Advocacy Centre (BUSAC), was aimed at encouraging stakeholders to establish land banks and design land use plans for the development of the region. Mrs. Awuni said the haphazard way houses were built has also prevented the Ghana National Fire Service from effectively fighting fire outbreaks and appealed to land users, especially private land developers to ensure that their transactions were in conformity with plans and layouts of the assemblies.

She noted that the high demand for land and poor succession plans have degenerated into problems after the death of incumbent land owners. Mr. John Atia, Executive member of the Association, urged land owners to support land planning officers to find lasting solutions to problems regarding land ownership.

Mr. Robert Ajene, a retired educationist from the region, urged the participants to ensure that women in the area own land for economic activities, particularly after the death of their husbands. He cautioned the people against random sale of lands since it could affect the development of their children. Participants were taken through topics including the "Need for Land Use Planning and Creation of Land Banks in the Upper East Region", and "Land Banks in Upper East Region-The Way forward".