Wa, July 17, GNA - Participants at a public forum held at Wa on Monday on procedures and benefits of land registration, have expressed concern about the high cost of registering land in the Upper West Region and called for measures to remedy the situation.
Presently, it costs GH(250 (2.5 million cedis) per applicant to register one plot of land at the Deeds Registry at Wa. In a speech read for him at a similar forum held earlier, Mr Ambrose Dery, Out-going Upper West Regional Minster also raised concerns about the same issue.
"It is alleged that it now costs more to prepare a lease document in Wa following the opening of the Deeds Registry in the Region than when documents were sent elsewhere for endorsement" Mr Dery said. Officials of the Regional lands Office however attributed the high cost to unofficial agents who are usually approached by applicants to help them prepare such documents.
The stated that it costs only GH(10.00 (100,000 cedis) to register a plot of land at the secretariat.
Mr Andrew Adjei-Yeboah, Deputy Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, said the Government was supporting the Lands Commission to computerise its records nationwide.
He deplored the spate of family land disputes in the region and described the situation in the Wa Municipality in particular as worrying.
Mr Dery urged the Lands Commission to adopt mechanisms such as arbitration by Alternative Dispute Resolution and intensified public education to minimize land related conflicts. 17 Jul. 07
