As Ghana’s land tenure system continues to pose a challenge to industrial development especially in the agricultural sector, the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has proposed shared-ownership as the only way out of the problem.
According to Madam Fatima Alimohamed, Vice Chairperson of the AGI Agriculture Committee, allowing community stakeholders such as landowners, traditional leaders and farmers to be shareholders in the project, is key to effective access to land.
Madam Alimohamed, who was among a panel of speakers at a Post 2018 Budget Forum organized by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) in Accra on Wednesday, said investments in projects requiring land should be more inclusive of community stakeholders.
Making landowners and farmers shareholders, she said, ensures the sustainability of projects as the host communities protect their interests in the company by promoting its growth.
She said although Foreign Direct Investments continue to increase, the FDI projects have not been impactful due to the non-involvement of local stakeholders.
Without a proper shareholding structure, she said such projects would continue to witness slow progress.
A shareholding community would be more committed towards the success of a project because apart from the provision of jobs, the members would also benefit from the profits of the company.
“This ensures sustainability of projects, and increased access to land for business expansion,” she said.
The country’s land tenure system, in which the ownership of land is vested in families and traditional stools, has over the decades, posed a challenge for business development as access and acquisition of land has been bedevilled with disputes.
By Nii Adotey/adrdaily.com
