LAND RECORDS MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS THE GHANA

LAND RECORDS MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS THE GHANA EXPERIENCE PRESENTED BY BENJAMIN ARTHUR, CHIEF LAND ADMINSTRATION OFFICER FOR LANDS COMMISSION

CURRENT SITUATION �Operates within a plural environment �Legal Pluralism � statutes and customary laws – State Lands Act, Land Administration Act, Land Registry Act, Land Title Act, Chieftaincy Act etc. �Multiple Institutional Structures � public and indigenous institutions, - LC, OASL, TCPD, Traditional Authorities �Multiple Land Administration processes �Deeds and Title registration

LAND RIGHTS The 1992 Constitution of Ghana identifies 4 categories of land ownership. � Public/State lands � Vested lands – Split ownership � Stool/Skin lands � Private/family lands

LEGAL FRAMEWORK Two (2) forms of land registration Deeds registration � Essentially Person based and recorded the documents to the land (Instruments) which was being registered � only helped in cases of conflict of priority of instruments. � evidence of which instrument was registered first and does not confer title to the land � did not require accurate maps � “Plotting” introduced as an administrative measure land

“PLOTTING” OF DEEDS Most parcel plans in the Deeds were not scientifically derived and could therefore not be physically located on the ground without the assistance of the land owner.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK Title registration � Essentially Parcel-based and recorded the rights and interest in the land being registered � Guaranteed Title as certificates issued are indefeasible and can only be cancelled by a court of law � required accurate parcel or cadastral plans

LAND RECORDS

PERSON-BASED TO PARCEL-BASED REGISTRATION Title Registration (Compulsory and Systematic) �The Land Title Registration to be implemented on a pilot basis �First officially declare a title registration district �Convert all deeds into titles within 80 days of declaration of any registration district �Compulsory registration of all lands in declared district

INSTITUTIONAL AND OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK �Implementation by Different Land Sector Agencies (PVLMD, SMD, LRD) �Separate Cadastre by each Agency �LRD not keeping spatial data (plotting), only attribute data on registration �Not cross-referencing history of records from Deeds �Double registration and attendant problems

INSTITUTIONAL AND OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK SMD LVD PVLMD LRD 7 5 2 3 4 6 8 1 Payments and Site Inspections Site Plan, Stamping, Concurrence, Lodgment, Title Plan, Searches, Publication & Certification.

IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES �poor maps �poor records management �uncooperative attitude of multiple agencies �sporadic way of implementation �multiple registration for the same piece of land �Completely paper based and manual environment �“rent seeking” attitude of staff

THE REFORM PROCESS • Legal Reforms -Lands Commission Act (Merger of 4 LSAs) • Business Process Reengineering & CSAU Before After

Reformed Service Delivery COMMON RECORDS JOINT INSPECTIONS LVD SMD PVLMD BACK OFFICE CLIENT SERVICE ACCESS UNIT (FRONT OFFICE) 1. SUBMISSIONS & PAYMENTS 2. COLLECTION � PLAN APPROVAL, STAMPING, REGISTRATION, SEARCHES & ENQUIRIES LRD

DEVELOPMENT OF GELIS • GELIS application System Development, Deployment, Maintenance & Support Ø LIS Solutions (Software) Ø Full system installation and operation Ø System maintenance • Supply of Hardware, Software and Equipment • Conversion of Manual Records to Digital (Data Capture and Conversion) • Knowledge Transfer (Training and Capacity Building)

DATA CENTRE

DATA CAPTURE Kaiser Camera Stand Lighting Rig Scanning Room Layout

DATA CAPTURE & CONVERSION DEEDS

DATA CAPTURE & CONVERSION TITLE

RESULTANT DIGITAL CADASTRE RDS O C D RE LR SMD PV LM D RECO RE RDS CO RD S

IDEAL DIGITAL CADASTRE:

Geographic Coverage of GELIS Parts of Accra, and 10% of Koforidua, Tema, Sekondi. Takoradi, Tamale and Bolgatanga Tamale DIST 20 DIST 19 DIST 04 Koforidua Accra - Tema Sekondi-Takoradi DIST 03

Status of Outstanding Work Activity Status End Date Scanning of manual records in Accra Ongoing 28/07/2017 Scanning of manual records in other CSAUs – Koforidua, Sekondi, Tamale & Bolgatanga Complete Done Data cleaning and delivery On-going 15/09/2017 Supply of hardware Complete 07/04/2017 Software development On-going 16/10/2017 Knowledge transfer On-going 22/09/2017 UAT and Final Sign Off and Acceptance Not Started 13/10/2017 1 year Maintenance Not Started 15/10/2018

ACTIONS FOR FULL GELIS IMPACT i. Data capture and Conversion of all other areas in the 5 pilot regions into the GELIS database ii. Deploy GELIS solutions nationwide iii. Continuous knowledge transfer to LC staff iv. Improved Change Management

Positive and Negative Experiences • Positives: • Reengineering of business process undertaken • Client Service Access Units (CSAUs) operational • GELIS implementation ongoing to improve back office operations • Stakeholder Interest • Negatives • Reduced Scope of GELIS – full impact may not be felt • Human Factor – in adequate Supervision & Attitude of staff • Poor Condition of Service and work environment • Change Management • Duplication or co-existence of paper-based with digitization

WORKSHOP TAKEAWAYS stages of evolution that each country has faced to achieve the introduction of parcel-based property registry Success Stories of other countries Strategies/Best practices in dealing with “correction” of overlapping deeds and Title “plottings” How other countries have delt with “common challenges”

Thank You For Your Attention