Volta Chiefs urged to facilitate establishment of customary land secretariats

Mrs Christie Bobobee, the Administrator of Stool Lands, has appealed to chiefs in the Volta Region to facilitate the establishment of Customary Land Secretariats in their traditional areas to bring sanity into land transactions and encourage investors to do business in the Region.

Mrs Bobobee was addressing the Volta Region House of Chiefs on the progress made in the first phase (2002-2011) of the Land Administration Project (LAP) and the way forward.

The chiefs sought to know the benefits that would accrue to stools from the establishment of the Customary Land Secretariats since much of the Volta Region does not have stool lands.

Mrs Bobobee explained that, the LAP was not limited to stool lands and that what affects stool lands also affects community, clan, family and individually owned lands.

She said though much of the Volta Region does not have stool lands, there are important stakeholders in land because, landowners sought the help of chiefs whenever they were confronted with land problems.

Mrs Bobobee said the establishment of Customary Land Secretariats would therefore formalize the influence of chiefs in land matters and yield immense financial benefits to the landowners, stools and the traditional areas.

She therefore appealed to the chiefs in the region to encourage clans, families, and individuals to collectively set up the Customary Land Secretariats on demand by approaching the LAP for support and direction.

"It is working elsewhere,” she said.**