LAP HOLDS CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOP FOR JOURNALISTS

STORY BY: PIUS K. DOGBEY

The second Ghana Land Administration Project (LAP-2), under the auspices of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, has organised the first in the series, of two-day capacity building workshop for some selected Journalists and media personnel from the southern zone of the country.

The workshop which forms part of LAP’s communication strategy, is intended to serve as the framework for the planning and implementation of a comprehensive information, education and communication (IEC) programme that will enable the Ghanaian public and specific land stakeholders to associate with the project and contribute to the attainment of its goals.

Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources at the opening of the workshop, a Deputy Minister in Charge of Land Resources, Hon. Barbara Asamoah, noted that the event is a major milestone as it provides a major boost to the collective efforts at streaming land administration in Ghana, thus, helping to alleviate poverty by creating and sharing wealth.

“Land and property are generally the main assets underpinning any buoyant economy, indeed our old wise men and women have always maintained that ‘land is life and life is wealth’. The reforms of land administration, especially in a developing country like ours, where the greatest majority of our people derive their daily subsistence from the land, ought, therefore, to be considered as an over-arching priority, requiring urgent attention”, the Minister noted.

She said it is on this score that the government of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), led by President Mahama, is more than determined to pursue the objectives set out in the National Land Policy of 1999 with the long term goal to stimulating economic growth, reducing poverty and promoting social stability.

She further mentioned that the President has clearly indicated his government’s social democratic credentials placing the welfare and comfort of the human being at the centre of development, thus, “the role of land and how efficiently it is managed is therefore critical for achieving these goals”.

On his part, the National Project Coordinator, Dr. Isaac Karikari, pointed out that, the whole idea of LAP is about efficient land management system for natural and environmental management hence, they cannot do this without the partnership and contribution of the media to having insight knowledge on land issues.

He further stressed that, for LAP to attain its goals and have a lasting impact on the various stakeholders involve, there is the need for a collaboration with the media to serve as crusaders of the project and for journalists to first of all have deep understanding in whatever the broadcast or publish in their various channels.

Dr. Karikari also indicated that, LAP will officially write to the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to commence a formal partnership intended for the introduction and sponsoring of a new category, the best reporter in land issues, in the annual journalist award starting from 2014.

The President of the GJA, Dr. Affail Monney, commended the Land Administration Project for its exceedingly investment towards the free training of journalists and media personnel in the country.

“The GJA appreciates exceedingly the investment by the Land Administration Project to freely train our members. Questionably, land ownership and inefficient land administration regime are at the centre of numerous conflicts with incalculable consequences. This is one area where knowledgeable journalists can leverage their expertise and the power of the media to achieve a semblance of sanity, stability, equity and social justice”, he implored.

Journalists and media personnel drawn from the southern zone of the country; Western, Central, Greater-Accra, Eastern and Volta Regions, were taken through topics such as Gender and Land, Street Naming and Property Addressing, Town and Country Planning, Development Journalism, Land Terminologies, Stool or Skin Lands and Reporting Land Issues by institutions like the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Ministry of Land and Natural Resources, Judicial Service of Ghana, LAP’s Gender Department and the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands.

It is expected that, participants of the workshop would form the nucleus of a new generation of Ghanaian Journalists with special interest in Land Administration and land related matters in the common quest for a sustainable, efficient and transparent land administration for Ghana.