By Surveyor Alhaji Dauda Sulemana Mahama ǀ 25^th February 2022

Introduction and Context Setting

1. We are at the phase of our national development where the subject matter of land is increasingly assuming renewed significance. Be it the need to revamp and modernize agriculture to ensure food security and provide raw materials for agro-led industrialization, providing affordable housing for the rapidly bulging population, effectively managing urbanization and its concomitant challenges such as sprawling and emergence of slums or improving revenue mobilization, among others, all require clear answers to the land question. Indeed, if we look at the classical definition of land, we can argue that all the seventeen (17) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are either directly or indirectly dependent on land and functional land administration system. Similarly, the African Union’s blue print for inclusive and sustainable development, ‘The Agenda 2063’ is largely land dependent. Therefore, from both national, regional and global perspectives, the central role of land in expediting socio-economic transformation in the face of growing complexities is critical.
2. Thankfully, what binds all of us as Surveyors is the ‘land factor’. Therefore, if there is any group of professionals better equipped to influence our development discourse as a nation, then it should be the Ghanaian Surveyor. It is within this context that the theme for this year’s celebration ‘Transforming Land Administration in Ghana – the role of the surveying professional’ is apt.
3. Let me at this point pause, draw inspiration from Benjamin Disraeli (British Prime Minister, 1874-1880) and pay homage to our heroes and heroines. I recall with great nostalgia the foundation by early leaders such as Surv. Harry Sawyer, Surv. Prof. Ebenezer Acquaye and Surv. S. A. Bediako all of the VES Division; Surv. E. A. Abbam, Surv. James Afful, Surv. Ofosu Darko, Surv. V. B. Amevordzie and Surv. Godfred Ampofo of the QS Division and the indefatigable Surv. A. H. Osei, the great Surv. Prof. E. E. L. Wuddah Martey Surv. E. A. Okine, Surv. Kumbun Naa Yiri II, Alhaji Naa Iddrisu Abu of the LS Division.

 

4. Following these greats came the generation of the likes of Surveyors F. K. Owusu-Agyapong, Alexander Adu, William Ofori, Rudolph Mensah, Lt. Col. (Rtd.) S. K. Adusei-Appiah, B. A. Fiah, Dr. Joseph Paul Okang and Jean Dotse.

 

5. How can we forget the four great trail blazer Lady Presidents, in the persons of Surveyors Matilda Esi Fiadzigbey, Yvonne Odoley Sowah, Maame Ama Adumadze Acquah and our Immediate Past President, Rosemargaret Esubonteng?

 

6. There are many other dynamic and far sighted younger generation of leaders of this great Institution who are heavily represented here this evening and I doff my hat to them for the leadership they provided during their time as President.
7. If this Institution has thrived and survived through the years, it is because of the work of these great men and women. What these greats have achieved entailed considerable personal sacrifice in the area of time, energy and personal resources to shore up the Institution. I am hopeful that the achievements of the past will continue to spur the surveying profession on, as we work collaboratively to reposition land administration as a driver of socio-economic transformation.

 

8. Let me also appreciate the Immediate Past President and Governing Council for steering the affairs of the Institution with so much commitment and dedication despite daunting challenges for the past year. Your selfless service has been noticed by all and the Institution. Indeed, the Organizing Committee deserves commendation for the abled manner with which this year’s celebration has been organized and the opportunity to revisit the subject of land administration in the country.

 

9. In similar vein, I wish to express my utmost gratitude to the late Alhaji Abass Kilba and Mrs Matilda Fiadzigbey for the foundational grooming and molding me into the Land Administration Professional I am today. Special appreciation also goes to Prof. R. Kasim Kasanga of KNUST and Prof. Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, former Executive Director of Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) with his wife Brooks Robinson, for their heavy intellectual investment in me and shepherding me to become a consummate Professional. I cannot also forget the fatherly guidance of such stalwarts like the Late Mr Alex Ashiagbor, a former Governor of Bank of Ghana; Mr Sam Okudzeto, a veteran legal luminary and Member of Council of State; and Mr Sam Esson Jonah, formerly of AngloGold Ashanti and a businessman of great acumen. In this class of fathers, Kumbun Naa Yiri II, Alhaji Naa Iddrisu Abu is special for ensuring that I never ever forgot my roots and principles of loyalty, truth and patience in whatever circumstances I found myself. I am eternally grateful for these anchors in my life and career.

Defining Land Administration

10. Before I proceed to explore the theme for this year, it is important to unpack the meaning of Land Administration. Conceptually, land administration is defined as

“the process of determining, recording and disseminating information about ownership, value and use of land and its associated resources….[as well as] detailed documentation and the provision of relevant information for supporting land markets”[1].

In effect, land administration is a broad discipline that encompasses legal, economics, spatial planning, valuation and more recently, information technology.

11. The National Land Policy (1999) had long identified that an effective and efficient land administration system is key in our development. Therefore, this document provided a diagnostic overview of the challenges of land administration across the country. This set in motion series of activities which culminated into the Ghana Land Administration Project which was designed to implement the policy recommendations contained in the National Land Policy. The overarching policy objective of the Project was to develop a sustainable and well-functioning land administration system that is fair, efficient, cost effective, decentralized and enhances tenure security.
12. Ghana’s land administration reform interventions which were pursued between 2003 and 2018 achieved mixed results. Whiles there was notable advancement in areas of customary land management, gender mainstreaming and social inclusion, adjudication of land cases by the Courts and general improvement in the equipment base of public land sector agencies among others, the structural challenges of lack of modern maps, inadequate digitized land records and human resource capacity constraints means, delays and title insecurity remain a major feature of land service delivery across the country. Land markets have been constricted in many areas and the needed boost required to spur on steady supply of affordable housing has remained largely elusive. In effect, Ghana’s land administration interventions have yielded some commendable outcomes but more is required, especially in the face of the current economic challenges.

Anchoring Ghana’s Economic Recovery on Functional Land Administration

13. The combination of exogenous factors such as the COVID-19 Pandemic, The Russia Invasion of Ukraine, global commodity price shocks and internal challenges means, Ghana’s economy has taken a considerable tumble and the effect is being felt across all sectors. This includes growing unemployment, low investment in agriculture resulting in food insecurity, loss of revenue to government and general rising levels of poverty and inequality.
14. Government is in search of alternatives to help reboot the economy and land is seen as a key resource in the process. For example.
    1. domestic revenue mobilization with emphasis on property and land-based taxation has been central in recent discourse.
    2. Government is rolling out the Economic Enclave Project under the Ghana CARES programme seeking to create a viable ecosystem for the private sector to engage in commercial farming.
    3. In addition, there are plans to explore the delivery of affordable housing schemes,
    4. regularize small-scale mining and;
    5. the construction of major roads and railways as part of efforts to reinvigorate the economy.

15. Our Institution is the aggregation of core professionals in the built environment space who specialize in unlocking the inherent value and potential in land. Therefore, in this time of economic downturn, our skills and competence are required now more than ever and I wish to challenge all of us to rise to the occasion.

Strengthening and Repositioning the Institution for National Impact

16. Fellow Surveyors, it is time for us to step out and make even more difference in our nation building efforts. Let us embrace a new mindset collectively as an Institution. A mindset that will enable us to build partnership within in order to develop a stronger voice to back well-researched policy options for the purpose of engaging government. It is the combination of our carefully considered solutions and well-structured policy engagement and advocacy which will help us to influence developments at the national level. This is a clarion call to all of us and as your Servant-Leader, I will provide the drive to achieve this. I count on all of you towards achieving this goal.
17. For us to influence change at the national level, the popular Latin maxim- ‘Nemo dat quod non habet’ is instructive. We cannot aspire to play a lead role in changing things if we do not have the knowledge and capacity to do so. That is why we need to work collectively with zest, zeal, passion and drive as we reorganize and reposition the Ghana Institution of Surveyors for the growing complexities of the modern society. It is only when we have a strong, cohesive and resourceful Institution that we can deliver our common aspiration. That is why my vision for my tenure is premised on ‘Empower, Engage, Impact’.
18. To effectively achieve these, we need to be constantly aware of the opportunities and challenges around us. That is while our collective abilities to anticipate emerging developments becomes critical. By scanning our current context, we will be able to determine the options available to us, so that we can negotiate the best and optimal choices of action. As a Servant-Leader who believes in collective action and the need to recognize the voice of every stakeholder in the Surveying space, I will ensure that the channels of communication are opened, deepened and sustained. Therefore, as Governing Council, we shall continuously listen to you, learn from you and provide leadership with substance.
19. By ‘Empowering’, we will be seeking to turn around the general level of apathy that is creeping into the Institution. We need to improve the relevance of the Institution to the members, especially the younger generation. To achieve this, we must address welfare concerns of all members and ensure that the base of the Institution at the regional levels is vibrant and has clear vertical integration with the national structure. This will improve a multi-way information flow, improve sense of belongingness and improve our collective capacity through targeted capacity building interventions.
20. The Divisions- Valuation and Estate (VES), Lands (LS)and Quantity Surveying (QS) Divisions will be encouraged and supported in their continuous evolution. Specialized wings such as the Young Surveyors Network (YSN) and Women in Surveying (WinS) will also witness a rebound in their growth and capacity. We will pursue this along dedicated welfare interventions in order to enhance practical relevance of the Institution to the members across all Divisions in all Regions.
21. A key component of the strategy of empowerment is to expose all of us (young, old, men, women in the profession) to some of the emerging practical applications of technology such as coding, artificial intelligence, block chain and GIS which are all crucial building blocks for a fit-for-purpose land administration in the 21^st We will work to equip the young surveyors with current tools in order to address the challenges at hand whiles making them competitive in this rapidly globalized world.
22. The next anchor which is ‘Engage’, will seek to renew our existing alliances, collaborations and linkages within the surveying ecosystems. This includes our international collaborators [such as Commonwealth Association of Surveying and Land Economy (CASLE), American Real Estate Society (ARES), African Real Estate Society (AfRES), Federation of International Surveyors (FIG), etc] and our teaching and research institutions such as the KNUST and relevant Technical Universities where a bulk of future surveyors are being trained. Our engagement strategy will seek to leverage both traditional and social media to enhance our presence and visibility.
23. Our decision to engage is not limited to our professional, academic and research collaborators. As I have indicated earlier, we will be conscious in enhancing our relevance by offering cutting edge, well researched and evidence-based policy propositions.
24. Our engagement with the state architecture for planning and managing the built environment should serve as the bridge which enables us to influence development in the built environment in order to create the impact we look forward to.
25. Fellow Surveyors, I am assuming office of this great Institution at a point in our national history where our contribution to nation building is extremely needed and we should rise to the occasion. The task ahead is daunting but our individual and collective abilities are formidable. I am privileged to have so many Past Presidents, experienced Senior Surveyors, strong Governing Council Members and you, dynamic professionals. I am convinced that together, we will make a difference and reposition our noble Institution on a higher pedestal.
26. As I commence this journey as the President of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors, I want to acknowledge the immense contribution of the many other individuals who helped to shape me to become the SULE I am today. Please join me to appreciate my wife, Zainab, my son Baba, daughter Samira, my elder brothers Maj Audu Mahama (Rtd) and Alhaji Yakubu Mahama for their sacrifices. I am grateful to my friend Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, the Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD who our Guest of Honour for tonight’s occasion is.
27. With your support, I solemnly pledge to move this Institution to the next level, with the Almighty Allah being my strength.

May God bless us all and make our Great Institution even Greater.

Thank you.