By Godwill Arthur-Mensah

Accra, May 23, GNA – The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has raised concerns over mounting land-related disputes in the Western-North Region, amid increasing investor interest in its rich natural resources.

While cocoa farming, timber, mining, and agriculture remained key economic drivers in the Region, Mr Buah noted that land disputes and unauthorised development were threatening its growth prospects.

The Minister, therefore, tasked the newly inaugurated Lands Commission Board in the Western North Region, to ensure strict enforcement of the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036), to deal ruthlessly with miscreants engaging in illegal land transactions in the Region.

Mr Buah thus tasked the Board to ensure sanity and trust in the land sector in the Region as more investors were showing interest in the area.

Mr Buah emphasised that the Region’s natural resource endowment made it a prime destination for investors and should not do anything untoward to prevent potential development initiatives.

“Unauthorised land sales, boundary disputes, and the lack of coordinated land planning are undermining investor confidence and leading to haphazard community expansion.

“The situation is particularly dire in farming and mining zones where tensions are escalating,” Mr Buah noted.

The Minister also sounded an alarm on illegal small-scale,popularly known as “galamsey”, which continued to ravage arable lands and polluting vital water bodies, including the Tano and Bia rivers.

The Minister observed that in some cases, farmers and landowners were pressured to surrender their lands to illegal miners—a practice that jeopardised food security and ecological stability.

To curb those practices, the Minister called for strict enforcement of the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036), which have severe penalties for unlawful land transactions.

The Minister outlined key priorities for the Commission to undertake including reducing land registration turnaround time to 30 working days, decentralising land services to make them accessible at the district level within two months and preventing unlawful conversion of stool lands into family lands, which contradicted the Customary Law.

He also tasked the Commission to combat encroachment on public lands, including forests and water bodies, and enforce strict supervision and ethical standards among Lands Commission staff.

While acknowledging the challenges faced by the Commission, Mr Buah stressed that the Board’s effectiveness would be judged by results.

Mr Buah remarked: “Your mandate is crucial to the Region’s development agenda. Land is the foundation upon which our economic revival and job creation efforts rest. The public and Government are counting on your dedication.”

Mr Wilbert Petty Brentum, the Western North Regional Minister, in his remarks, said members were carefully nominated or selected by their respective Assemblies and institutions due to their vast experience in land administration and was hopeful that they would demonstrate commitment, professionalism, fairness, and hard work in the discharge of their functions.

The Regional Coordinating Council would work in partnership with the traditional leaders and the Regional Lands Commission to ensure smooth land administration in the Region.

Mr. George Kobina Richardson, the Chairperson of the Board, expressed gratitude to the government for the confidence reposed in them and pledged the Board’s commitment to ensuring effective and transparent land administration in the Region.

GNA

Edited by Kenneth Odeng Adade