A report released by the Auditor-General shows that the Ministry of Works and Housing acquired 8,349.27 acres of land in the Greater Accra, Central and Eastern regions of the country worth GHC28.75 million in compensation to the various landowners without land registration documents.
It also indicated that the Ministry did not have any documentation to cover the acquisition of the lands, nor did it have title or registration documents even though payments of some compensation started as far back as 2007.
For the Auditor-General, it is in breach of the Public Financial Management Act (Act 921), which provides that a “Principal Spending Officer shall maintain a register of lands and buildings under the control or possession of that Principal Spending Officer.”
“The register shall include the details of each parcel of land and each building and the terms on which the land and the building is held with reference to the conveyance, address, area, date of acquisition, disposal or major change in use, cost, lease terms, maintenance contracts and other pertinent management details,” the report states.
In the Greater Accra Region, the Ministry acquired 7,579 acres of land in Fiankonya, Asutsuare, Sege, and Prampram and paid an amount of GHC 20,947,843.2 to the various landowners in the form of compensation.
The Ministry also acquired 769.63 acres of land in Gomoa-Ojobi in the Central Region of Ghana and paid a compensation of GHC7,806,700 to the landowners.
The report also mentioned that the Public Works Department (PWD), a department under the Ministry, validated and paid a staff an undeserved total amount of GHC25,781.35 which they called unearned salary.
The Auditor-General among other things recommended that the Ministry should take immediate steps to register all their lands, have them properly documented, and also maintain a register of lands and buildings.
On the unearned salary, the Auditor-General recommended that the regional director should ensure the amount involved is recovered from the individual, failing which the amount should be recovered from the Regional Director and Validators.
Source: Abdul-Razak Mohammed (Real Estate Times Africa)
