Double sale of lands on the rise – Lands Commission warns

The Lands Commission of Ghana says the sale of the same piece of land to multiple people is becoming a trend in Ghana. The commission says particularly in Accra, families and clans are mutating, even when the owners come from the same parents.

The Executive Secretary of the Lands Commission of Ghana, Alhaji Sulemana Mahama, speaking on the Sunrise morning show on 3FM warned, the commission will not countenance such behavior from so-called land owners.

According to the commission, prospective buyers must verify source of ownership before buying lands particularly in Accra.

“The buyer must look for the source of ownership by conducting a search at the lands commission where there is no information and we doubt ourselves. We shall draw your attention to it and tell you there is not enough information around the land so do further search to see.”

He also noted, “In Accra, we are beginning to find out that even families and clans which are supposed to own lands are mutating; within the same family several branches of them will be selling the same piece of lands at different times. So, in this case, they are not seized with the capacity to transact and if you are holding land as a family or clan the person who has the capacity to grant is the accredited head of the family and he must have the approval of the principal elders of the family.

So if you do not take time to be sure that the person who is granting to you is the accredited head of the family, then you are buying trouble for yourself”.

Alhaji Sulemana said buyers must seek professional assistants to help in the processes.

According to him people get carried away easily the moment they are offered lands without doing the necessary background checks.

“What you need to do if you are a purchaser is to seek professional advise.

There are licensed surveyors, planners, valuers, land administrators within the private sector so you don’t treat land as if you are going to the market to buy cassava because the interest in lands is perpetual,” he stated.