Former Member of Parliament for Anyaa Sowutuom Dr. Dickson Adomako Kissi, has suggested that Ghana consider adopting aspects of the British land ownership system to address the country’s recurring disputes over land.
According to him, the current system, where the sale of lands is under the control of the Chiefs contributes to conflicts and multiple sales.
Speaking on Joy News on 1st September, Dr Dickson Adomako Kissi said, “The state doesn’t own lands in this country. Its all in the hands of the chiefs. That is I think part of our problem.”
He noted that if lands were state-owned and properly managed some of these unnecessary turf wars, disputes and killings could be avoided.
“If appropriate arrangement is made and royalties are paid to the appropriate quarters in terms of the royal families, I think that might be the best approach,” he explained.
According to Dr. Kissi, such a system would help prevent situations where different relatives from the same family sell the same portion of land to multiple buyers.
He suggested a pilot project to test the approach, arguing that if the government handles this, it will ensure proper demarcations of land.
“We could do a pilot program and try it out. What I believe, unfortunately, is that the demarcations will be much better. You cannot go and buy a government land and get land in the street,” he stressed.
“For that reason if Government was allocating land and certainly making sure that the renumerations that are supposed to go to the Chiefs happen, I will be much obliged,” he added.
Dr Dickson Adomako Kissi pointed to the systems in the United Kingdom as an example
“So land issues in Ghana, we may have to learn from the Brits. Yes, the home land is for the Queen but it is not the Queen that sells it, it’s the government that bequeaths or leases the lands out,” he concluded.
