Lands Commission  embarks on massive digitisation

• Increases revenue by 12%

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

The initiative, which is aimed at fast-tracking land documentation, includes scanning, geo-referencing, digitising and archiving of existing records.

In addition, the land-modernised system is expected to facilitate the retrieval of files for various purposes.

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

Addressing a team of journalists, 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 prioritise the digitalisation 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, decentralisation of 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 develop online access to the Lands Commission.

The Executive Secretary was optimistic that the new system would facilitate a systematic recording/titling and verification.

This, he added will speed up coverage and completion of land title records of the country.

The commission, he noted, prioritises training of employees in a bid to raise efficiency and performance.

The commission, he intimated, will create a pool of regularly updated geospatial databases to be accessible by other government organisations 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 modernised digital environment.

He said the approval is subject to the approval of the financing arrangement of the  Ministry of Finance, with the Attorney-General providing legal agreement obtained for PDB Ghana Limited to invest some US$85million for five years.

The investment, he noted, is expected to transform the operations of the commission.

The agreement, he disclosed, is currently being reviewed 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.

He said the project, when operational, will improve maps and spatial data by 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 emphasise 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.

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