Lands Commission digitises record management to fast-track land documentation

The Lands Commission (LC), as part of its digitalization drive, has established a modernized land record management system.

The initiative, aimed at fast-tracking land documentation, includes scanning, geo-referencing, digitizing, and archiving of existing records. Additionally, the modernized land system is expected to facilitate the retrieval of files for various purposes.

The disclosure was made last Friday, February 2, 2024, at an event dubbed “Executive Secretary’s Briefing” in Accra.

Addressing a team of journalists, the Chairman of the Lands Commission, Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Lands and Forestry, Members of the National Lands Commission, Management, and Staff members of the Lands Commission, Mr. Benjamin Arthur, Executive Secretary of the Lands Commission, underscored the urgent need for the Commission to prioritize the digitalization drive.

The drive, he stated, is expected to facilitate the automated workflow processes of the Commission. He maintained that the system will see a facelift in improving maps and spatial data. Other benefits, the Executive Secretary stated, are to enable the Lands Commission to render services using a variety of digital platforms, automate workflow processes of the Commission, decentralize services to augment the Information and Communication Technology infrastructure of the Lands Commission while retooling the Lands Commission by procuring state-of-the-art equipment, computers, servers, vehicles, and developing online access to the Lands Commission.

The Executive Secretary was optimistic that the new system would facilitate systematic recording/titling, verification. This, he added, will speed up coverage and completion of land title records of the country.

The Commission, he noted, prioritizes training of employees to raise efficiency and performance. The Commission, he intimated, will create a pool of regularly updated geospatial databases accessible by other government organizations and private businesses.

Under the Lands Administration Reform Project, he observed that the Commission obtained approval from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to procure the services of PDB Ghana Limited to undertake the project in transforming the Lands Commission’s operations into a modernized digital environment. He said the approval is subject to the financing arrangement approval of the Ministry of Finance, with the Attorney General providing legal agreement obtained for PDB Ghana Limited to invest some $85 million for five years.

The investment, he noted, is expected to transform the operations of the Commission. The agreement, he disclosed, is currently under review by stakeholders for submission to the office of the Attorney General. At the moment, he stated that a value-for-money audit is being done by a consultant appointed by the Ministry of Finance.

The project, when operational, he said, will improve maps and spatial data by the production of what he termed “digital base map” to cover the entire country. It will also facilitate the establishment of a Geodetic Reference Network (GRN) and Continuous Operating Reference System (CORS) including (Transformation parameters).

He explained that the digital transformation will upscale the Lands Commission to render services using a variety of digital platforms. “Mr. Chairman, I emphasize that the arrangement with PDB Ghana Limited does not require it to be involved in the operations of the Lands Commission. It is only meant for the company to provide the required investment and technical services support for the implementation of the project,” he clarified.

“The total revenue generated by the Lands Commission in 2023 amounted to GHS 206,868,050.45, an increase of 12% over the 2022 figure of GHS 174,086,675.61 with revenue from ground rent for 2023 being GHS 30,273,970.46, an increase of 12% over 2022,” Mr. Benjamin Arthur stated.

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