Parliament set to pass law to curtail activities of land guards

The Lands and Natural Resources Ministry has presented a bill to Parliament for passage with regard to land acquisition. The new bill is expected to outlaw the activities of land guards and their involvement in land matters in the country. At a stakeholder forum in Accra, existing challenges on land were raised and the parliamentary Select Committee on Lands and Forestry is expected to consider them during their deliberations. “This new bill is just bringing together all those laws; it is a consolidated bill,” John Peter Amewu noted. The land bill is the outcome of reforms which were introduced in the land sector as a result of the implementation of the 1999 National Land Policy. Despite plans for the passage of the bill to be passed, a former Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Collins Dauda, does not believe legislation and making land guard activities illegal will address the menace. “If the old law did not give us what we want, what is the guarantee that putting this one together will give us what we want? What we need to think about is what we will put in this new law that will in practical terms address the challenges confronting us,” he said. Land is central in development, but there have been several challenges with regards to its ownership and re-distribution. These include the use of land guards and the non-availability of documents for stool lands. Although there are about 270 land laws in Ghana, they are not being enforced. Alhaji Dauda is pessimistic about the new land bill. According to him, legislation to outlaw the activities and use of land guards is not the best way. “If you listen to the people who engage land guards, they do so because they have difficulty finding justice when they get to the court. It takes too long in the court before a case is heard.” But the sector minister, John Peter Amewu, thinks the consolidation of the various laws on land will address the challenges for good. Source: 3news.com|Ghana Follow @3Newsgh  ]]>