Land Administration Research Centre – U.S.T. Kumasi

“Land is a heritage and an asset given to man by nature. When land is serviced to be accessible and productive it becomes an economic good - a resource, a commodity and a source of wealth”. PREAMBLE In our contemporary world, we find innumerable the use of land in our everyday lives. There is the use of land for agricultural, commercial, residential, educational and industrial purposes. Reserves and many other uses of land are also crucial. Usually the user seats the moat fertile for farming, the most stable for building and construction and the most colourful and serene for recreation. But it is rather paradoxical that people rarely ponder over the origin of land ownership in Ghana, let alone, the significance of its administration. Perhaps we can beat appreciate the importance of land administration if we can imagine a world devoid of a well-defined land ownership system. The difficulty in conceiving such a world indicates how invaluable, land and its administration are. Land has always had its roots in the past am the foundation of society life. The first Lands Bill was passed in 1894. This Bill defended both lands rights and the Social structure based on them. In 1897 a new Lands Bill was formally introduced to give the Crown the rights of administration but not of ownership. This led to the formation of the Aborigirists Rights Protection Society which protested against Maxwell’s 1897 Bill and also had the aim of discussing the various Bills intended to be seamed by the Government from time to time. After their numerous protects to Maxwell bad fallen on deaf ears, a deputation was eat to England in 1898 to ask for amendments, limitations and revisions to the Bill. It was a successful undertaking and Maxwell’s Bill was subsequently withdrawn. The rights of land administration were returned to the chiefs and people as it had always been in the past. After the demise of the Aboriginsts Rights Protection Society, all other lands rights movements were purely political till the 1950’s when the Akin Abuakwa Stool lands were vested to be held by the state in trust for the people. After Independence two Acts were enacted. The Land Administration Act gave the government the authority to acquire private laud for public use, and the Stool Lands Act vested it with the power to assume supervisory control over stool lands. This led to the setting up of the Lands Commission in 1969. Currently in Ghana we are blessed to have a body which is wholly devoted to land administration. A body which ensures that maximum use is made of the land, and that neighbours are not drawn into litigation because of ignorance about issues concerning land administration. It researches into matters regarding land ownership, acquisition, registration, allocation and what have you, all relating to land use. It also studies and reviews from time to time the Land Administration Acts of the country to permit the Ghana Government to formulate a National Land Policy incorporating a better system of land management and mere efficient use of the land resource, of the country. This body is the Land Administration Research Centre (L.A.R.C.) located on the University of Science and Technology campus, Kumesi.

Source: KNUST