Mrs Lucy Awuni, Upper East Deputy Regional Minister, on Wednesday called on municipal and district assemblies in the region to develop land banks and proper layout of lands to ensure orderly development.
She made the call during a meeting with the Tindamas (Custodians of Land) on "Land Use Plan and Land Banks," for local government and Stakeholders in Bolgatanga.
The meeting, sponsored by the Business Sector Advocacy Centre (BUSAC), to create an opportunity for stakeholders to reflect on the gaps and barriers towards the judicious use of land and explore ways of planning it for sustainable economic development.
Mrs Awuni said the lack of proper land use layouts and land banks were some of the major challenges facing the region.
She indicated that the situation did not only lead to putting up structures indiscriminately but also blocked access roads making it difficult for fire tenders to effectively manage fire when it broke out.
Mrs Awuni asked all stakeholders, especially private developers, to ensure that they worked within the layout of the respective municipal and district assemblies for orderly development.
She said population density and poor succession plans created land acquisition problems that often degenerated into chaotic situation during death of incumbent land owners.
She appealed to stakeholders to make recommendations to streamline land ownership to curtail the problem.
Mr John Atia, Executive member of the Tindama Association, said there was the need for all stakeholders to brainstorm to find a lasting solution to land ownership problems.
Mr Robert Ajene, a retired educationist, who chaired the function, urged participants to ensure that their recommendations would include women to be given the opportunity to own lands especially when their husbands died.
He cautioned the natives to desist from selling their lands indiscriminately since they would deny their future children their right to land.
Participants were taken through topics including the "Need for Land Use Planning and Land Banks in the Upper East Region," and "Land Banks in Upper East Region - The Way forward".