The Civil Society Coalition on Land has presented a communiqué to the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines to support the smooth implementation of the Land Administration Project (LAP) in Accra.
The communiqué draws attention to some of the concerns of civil society in the design and implementation of the Customary Land Secretariat (CLS) and makes recommendations as to how these concerns could be addressed.
Mrs Bernice Sam, Acting Chairperson of the Steering Committee, said the communiqué was the outcome of deliberations at a two-day forum by the coalition with the participation of representatives from selected government land sector agencies.
She said the appropriate implementation of the Land Administration Project would ensure equity and secure access to land by all stakeholders and marginalized land users.
The 55.5 million-dollar LAP is currently being piloted across the country with the first phase expected to end in 2008.
Mrs Sam said insecurity of land tenure contributed to the decline in agricultural production and entrenched poverty among poor families and women who depended on land and natural resources for a living.
Mrs Sam said it was the responsibility of every citizen to support the government to ensure that it lived up to its responsibilities to the people.
She added that the Civil Society Coalition on land, a non-governmental organisation, was aimed at working towards a land administration system that impacted positively on the lives of the poor and vulnerable.
Mr Andrew Adjei-Yeboah, Deputy Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, said the concerns expressed in the communiqué would help address and find lasting solution to problems concerning land administration.
He said many of the country's problems emanated from improper acquisition of land and customary land arrangements.
He assured the coalition that the needed attention would be given to the communiqué in the implementation of the Project.
Mr Adjei-Yeboah advised Ghanaians to be genuine with land issues in order to prevent the insecurities associated with land administration.
Dr Odame Larbi, Project Director of LAP, lauded the effort of Civil Society Coalition and pledged collaboration between the project and the coalition to ensure that the negative factors that plagued the administration of land currently were removed.