Alhaji Yusif Sulemana, the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, has tasked the newly inaugurated Upper West Regional Lands Commission Board to serve the collective interest of the region and not their “self-centred interests.”
He recognised land as an invaluable and precious resource that played a pivotal role in development, stressing the need for its effective management.
Alhaji Sulemana, also the Member of Parliament for the Bole-Bamboi Constituency in the Savanna Region, gave the task in Wa at the weekend when he inaugurated the newly constituted Lands Commission Board in the region.
The 18-member Board comprised representatives from all Municipal and District Assemblies in the region, Lawyers, the Regional House of Chiefs, the Ghana Institute of Surveyors, the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority and the Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen.

Justice Alhaji Yussif Assibey, the Supervising Wa High Court Judge, swore in the Board members.
“You cannot do virtually everything without land. Even if we want to build a school, we will require land from the landowners…. If anybody wants to invest in this region, you will have to get land.
That’s how important land is. So, … bear in mind that you are not here on this Board to serve your self-centred interests, but rather to serve the collective interests of the region”, he explained.
He also encouraged the Board to collaborate with all necessary stakeholders in the region, including traditional leaders, in the discharge of its duties and to take steps to resolve all land-related disputes and conflicts in the region.
The Deputy Minister explained that the government, through his Ministry, had envisaged digitalising land administration in the country to help address land-related conflicts arising from multiple land sales.
He added that they were currently engaging stakeholders and the investment community to partner with governments to digitalise the system.
Alhaji Sulemana also encouraged the Board to decentralise land registration in the region to reduce transportation-related costs in land registration.
Mr Charles Lwanga Puozuing, the Upper West Regional Minister, urged the Board to improve land registration in the region to attract investors.
He also entreated the members to collaborate with the Minerals Commission and landowners in the region to address the issue of illegal mining.
Mr Iddrissu Munjamilu, the Chairperson of the Board, commended the President for their appointment to the Board.
He expressed their commitment to ensuring that the government’s “resetting agenda” was realised in land administration in the region.