The Lands Commission of Ghana has announced its collaboration with a local investor, PBD Ltd, to kick off an $85-million initiative designed to overhaul land administration throughout the nation.
The project, set to commence next year, will span five years, with PBD Ltd not only funding the endeavor but also contributing their technical proficiency.
Significant components of this project include the creation of digital maps for the country, bolstering the Lands Commission’s personnel through extensive training, streamlining the commission’s resources, and accelerating the digitization of land records.
This developement emerges as a response to concerns over corruption within the Lands Commission.
A 2021 United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) study highlighted the Lands Commission as Ghana’s most corrupt institution, with its officers noted for taking considerable bribes.
Acting Executive Secretary of the Lands Commission, Benjamin Arthur, emphasized the importance of digital mapping to eliminate discrepancies among agency-produced maps.
Through this process, the commission highlighted its hope to construct a national spatial data framework, allowing various agencies access to the data.
“This will help to reduce cost, improve data quality, and ensure standardisation,” said Arthur. On his visit to the Lands Commission, the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources in charge of Land and Forestry, Benito Owusu-Bio, commended the public-private alliance as transformative.
He pressed the importance of robust reforms across human resources, structural components, and operational processes, urging the commission to actively distance itself from its tarnished public image and to tackle illegal activities head-on.
