The University of Cape Coast in collaboration with the Judicial Training Institute (JTI) has held a two day training workshop on public lands protection for selected justices of the Court of Appeal, High and Circuit Court judges in the Central Region.
The training workshop was to equip both the judges and the university with the necessary information on the new Land Act, Act 1036 which has been introduced to re-define encroachment rights in Ghana.
The new Land Act is to help streamline the land administration system by introducing clear, coherent, and consistent policies and laws supported by appropriate institutional structures. Ghana enacted the new Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036) to also help consolidate the existing laws on land and land administration into a single Act and also bring sanity in the various land tenure systems.
Speaking to ATLFMNEWS on the sideline of the two days workshop on Friday, the head of Legal Affairs and General Counsel at the University of Cape Coast, Mr. Solomon Faakye indicated that the training workshop is important, particularly for the University of Cape Coast which has over the years suffered from encroachment. Despite efforts made by the university to address this growing phenomenon, over time, more than 20 percent of the university’s 7mile square lands have been encroached.
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“The University of Cape Coast together with the judiciary will act together to protect these state institutions whose lands are gradually being consumed under a very rapid surge of encroachment” Mr Faakye said.
According to him, the university will not hesitate to invoke the law regarding remedies on encroachment if it becomes necessary adding that “the University of Cape Coast has been very slow in demolishing because the university believes in dialogue and engagement.” But he explains this mode of negotiation will not suffice if the canker of encroachment continues.
Giving the keynote address, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong called on all stakeholders to take pragmatic steps to protect public lands, particularly UCC lands as the University is on the verge of loosing all its lands to encroachers.
On his part, the Director of the Judicial Training Institute (JTI) and Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Samuel Marful-Sau said, the stakeholder training will come out with solutions on how to combat the menace of encroachment.
Source: Anthony Sasu Ayisadu/ATLFMNEWS
