Mr. Kwame Gyan, a legal expert of the Land Administration Project (LAP), said on Tuesday that plans were underway to bring all the laws related to land under one codified Act to curtail land related conflicts. This, he said, was because the problem underlying conflicts in most areas in Ghana had been identified as mainly land related or chieftaincy issues. Mr. Gyan said "At the moment there are several laws related to land issues in 166 different areas making access to the law difficult," adding that there were times when some judges did not even know that such laws existed. He was speaking at a forum that brought together traditional rulers, landowners and individuals interested in streamlining the land sector in the Greater Accra Region. The forum, with participants mainly from the Ga East and Ga West Districts and the Accra Metropolitan Area was to generate a healthy debate on land issues in the region with the aim of collating stakeholders' comments and views as input for the proposed Consolidated Land Act. According to Mr. Gyan, government was of the belief that once planning was done with the involvement of the people, enforcement of laws would also have their support. He said all the processes were in line with government's vision of merging the various land related institutions at a one-stop-shop under the name "Lands Commission." The merging of all the laws and administrative procedures into a comprehensive one, would also curtail issues related to double compensation and claims of non-payment of compensation by government, Mr. Gyan said. Citing the demand for compensation for the Achimota School land by the Owoo Family in Accra, he said, LAP had in its custody, receipts indicating that the Colonial Government paid 4,000 pounds for that land at the time for which no investment was made for this present generation. "Four Thousand Pounds in the 1920s could have constructed about 4,000 houses for the family, to which the present generation could have been benefiting instead of attacking government to re-compensate them," he said. "We should all learn to abide by the saying that land belongs to the dead, the living and the generations yet unborn, so that we can make provision especially for the future generations as we dispose of our lands," Mr Gyan said. Dr. Odame Larbie, Executive Director, LAP, said the project's main focus was to help bring sanity into land issues. He said it was rather pathetic that almost all the rich agricultural lands in Accra were being put under construction, which was not the best for the region. Dr. Larbie said "We need to be discussing these competing demands so that adequate plans could be made for further generations. We should not continue to put issues like these under the carpet until they explode." Nii Tetteh Tsuru, the La Mantse, appealed to the Lands Commission to advise government on the use of acquired lands that were not being developed for the purposes for which they were acquired. He said "Where the lands are no longer being used for the purposes for which they were acquired, there should be proper negotiations between the chiefs and the government." Nii Tetteh stressed that government was not acting in line with the requirements of the Constitution especially with reference to lands acquired in Accra. Mr Quartey Papafio, District Chief Executive of GA West, called on the chiefs to liaise with the Town and Country Planning Department to draw proper layouts in the various districts to curb the haphazard construction of projects. Source: GNA