Digitalisation, consolidation of search reports by Land Commission to restore public confidence in land acquisition – E. Wells CEO
Real estate expert and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of E. Wells Realty, Hanna Atiase, has lauded the Land Commission’s decision to digitalize as well as consolidate search reports on parcels of land from three of its departments.
The Commission’s decision to computerise its information and make it accessible to the public, Mrs Atiase noted, will enhance transparency and restore the public’s confidence in land transactions in the country, particularly that of diasporans willing to purchase lands in the country.
As earlier reported by norvanreports, the Lands Commission in a communique last week, notified the general public of its intention to merge search reports on lands starting October 1, 2021.
According to the Greater Accra Regional division of the Commission, it will no longer issue separate search reports from its divisions namely the Public and Vested Land Management Division, Land Registration Division and the Survey & Mapping Division.
This, the Greater Accra Regional division of the Commission remarked, is to ensure that a search report from the Lands Commission on a parcel of land provides full information relating to that parcel of land in a single report instead of three separate reports.
According to the Commission, applications for search reports on lands by individuals can be submitted online.
Speaking to norvanreports in an exclusive interview, Mrs Atiase who is also the Director of Training and Education for the Ghana Association of Real Estate Brokers (GAR), noted further that, the new measure by the Commission will help resolve challenges such as dishonest sales of lands, fraudulent registration of lands among others that have bedeviled land administration in the country for several decades.
She adds that, the new move by the Commission will help reduce the various channels for disputes or litigation over land title and ownership by individuals.
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“I believe the Commission’s decision will reduce the various channels for disputes or litigation over land title and ownership of registered interests in land because this information is now public and everybody has access to it. And so this would greatly limit the number of individuals who were previously selling one plot of land to several buyers because now everything is registered, transparent and public and so the risk is minimised,” she said.
“And this also helps land buyers do their due diligence to ensure that the land they are buying truly has the ownership that claims to own the land,” she added.
Commenting further on the issue, Mrs Atiase expressed hope that the Commission in the near forseeable future will make use of blockchain technology in recording information about lands in the country.
“My other hope or desire is to see the Commission implement blockchain technology in recording information about lands in the country because I believe that would make it difficult if not nearly impossible to hack or cheat the system at all. Not only will blockchain prevent fraudulent activities but also help in being able to view the chain of land titles which is also important to know, so at a glance the current owner of the property is known as well as the previous owners and I think that will be of immense help to the Commission and the real estate industry at large,” she remarked.
Mrs Atiase is optimistic that, the new measure will help increase land sales which will be great for real estate companies and the economy in general given that people will now be more willing to buy lands because of the increased transparency that comes along with the Commission’s decision.
“Of specific benefit of the Commission’s decision is the restoration of public confidence particularly for those in the diaspora because they are the ones that usually when they hear stories of some of the chaotic things that happen with purchase of lands in the country, they express fear and hesitation in acquiring lands in the country. But now that you have a system that is online and transparent, there is security of information and people will now not be reluctant to buy lands as they were at first.
“They will now be willing to buy land and this will also increase land sales which will be great for real estate firms in the country and the economy as a whole because you are looking at foreign investments and people having the confidence to purchase lands in their homeland to build their legacies which are all important,” she stated.
