Mr Peter Kwame Donkor, Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Association of Sand and Stone Contractors of Ghana Private Road Transport Union and Progressive Transport Owners Association (ASGP), has called on chiefs and land owners to stop double sales of winning land to contractors to avoid confusion and litigation among members. He has also called on them to reduce the high cost of sand winning land to its members and should also try to identify and ignore illegal contractors in the industry. Mr Donkor was speaking at the opening session of a workshop organised by the association for traditional leaders and land owners in Kumasi on Friday. The day’s workshop sponsored by the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund was under the theme, “Sensitisation of Traditional Leaders and Land Owners on ASGP Advocacy Project, Decentralisation of Permit for Sand Winning”. Mr. Donkor stressed the need for the government to decentralise the acquisition of sand and stone permits to the regional levels to facilitate easy operations of sand and stone winners. He also appealed to the government to empower the association to reinforce taskforce operations to check illegal winning of sand and stone in certain communities in the region. Mr. Emmanuel Asamoah Owusu-Ansah, Ashanti Regional Minister, called on chiefs, land owners, sand and stone contractors and other stakeholders to respect and adhere to the laid down procedures for sand winning. He indicated that proper analysis of existing laws of winning sand, payment of relevant fees to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), district assemblies and stools, effective measures for reclamation of land, use of qualified surveyors to draw site plans are some of the procedures that must be respected to enhance sustainable development and use of land. The Regional Minister said the government has put in place relevant measures to ensure that the nation’s scarce resources especially land was put to proper use as a way of finding lasting solutions to some of the problems facing the agriculture sector. Baffour Asare Owusu Amankwatia IV, Bantamahene, commended the association for its efforts to bring sanity into the operations of sand winning in the country. He said it was time land owners and chiefs who involved in double sales of land put an end to the practice to enhance peace and development in their area. Mr Kingsley Saforo Twumasi, consultant to the association hoped all stakeholders would contribute in diverse ways to solve the problem facing the association to pave way for a better business operation of the members in the region. GNA