Queen Mothers engaged to champion women land rights

Accra, Aug 2, GNA – A two-day workshop has ended in Accra with a call on Queen Mothers to serve as champions in women’s quest to access and control land in their communities.

The workshop, organised by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the National chapter of Transparency was to forge a partnership between civil society and Queen Mothers in promoting women land rights and seek to find solutions and promote gender equity, thus forging closer ties between the citizens and traditional authorities.

Madam Linda Ofori-Kwafo, the Executive Director of GII, said in a recent baseline study of the GII titled: “Women, Land and Corruption in Ghana”; Evidence from selected case studies indicated that, almost 40 per cent of women, compared to 23 per cent of men respondents, indicated that corruption hindered their access to, and control over land resources and therefore fundamentally impacts their livelihoods.

She therefore proposed for the development of a strong and robust anti-corruption governance structure and redress mechanism, focusing on the socially excluded in relation to their rights to access to land, to have these rights protected or to seek redress when these rights were violated.

She said the workshop formed part of activities planned towards achieving the goals of the Land and Corruption in Africa (LCA) project, being supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through Transparency International Secretariat in Berlin, Germany.

She said the LCA started in 2015 and would run till 2019, with the main implementing chapters being Cameroon, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Madagascar and Kenya.

She said the aim of the Land and Corruption in Africa Project was to contribute to improved livelihoods of men and women adversely affected by corrupt practices in land administration and land deals, and thereby to enhance security of tenure, as well as to ensure equitable and fair access to land, and ultimately sustainable and inclusive development and growth.

Dr Stan Adiabah, the Principal Land Administration officer, Lands Commissioner Consultant on Large Scale land Acquisition, urged the Queen Mothers to champion a crusade for comprehensive national land inventory to build a viable database of stool, skin, public lands, family lands, individual lands, disputed and undisputed lands.

Dr Adiabah also tasked them to champion the establishment of Queen Mothers Community Land Rights Secretariat, advocate for strengthening of customary land and secretariats and their integration into the formal system.

Ms Lois Aduamoah-Addo, a Representative of Women in Law and Development in Africa, speaking on the topic: “The role of Traditional authorities in mobilizing and promoting land rights of women” said the  charter of demands  of rural women in Ghana calls for sensitisation of leaders, religious and land sector actors, the public on laws and policies on land, ban harmful and oppressive cultural practices that undermine women’s rights including those that prohibit women to inherit land and other resources.

She said the charter also calls 50 per cent participation of women in decision-making bodies and implementation of land issues and matters including the valuation of land and payment of compensation for natural resources.

She said Government should enact laws to provide security and protection of women’s rights defenders and women and communities to have a say on what land investors and companies invest in their communities.

GNA

Accra, Aug 2, GNA – A two-day workshop has ended in Accra with a call on Queen Mothers to serve as champions in women’s quest to access and control land in their communities.

The workshop, organised by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the National chapter of Transparency was to forge a partnership between civil society and Queen Mothers in promoting women land rights and seek to find solutions and promote gender equity, thus forging closer ties between the citizens and traditional authorities.

Madam Linda Ofori-Kwafo, the Executive Director of GII, said in a recent baseline study of the GII titled: “Women, Land and Corruption in Ghana”; Evidence from selected case studies indicated that, almost 40 per cent of women, compared to 23 per cent of men respondents, indicated that corruption hindered their access to, and control over land resources and therefore fundamentally impacts their livelihoods.

She therefore proposed for the development of a strong and robust anti-corruption governance structure and redress mechanism, focusing on the socially excluded in relation to their rights to access to land, to have these rights protected or to seek redress when these rights were violated.

She said the workshop formed part of activities planned towards achieving the goals of the Land and Corruption in Africa (LCA) project, being supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through Transparency International Secretariat in Berlin, Germany.

She said the LCA started in 2015 and would run till 2019, with the main implementing chapters being Cameroon, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Madagascar and Kenya.

She said the aim of the Land and Corruption in Africa Project was to contribute to improved livelihoods of men and women adversely affected by corrupt practices in land administration and land deals, and thereby to enhance security of tenure, as well as to ensure equitable and fair access to land, and ultimately sustainable and inclusive development and growth.

Dr Stan Adiabah, the Principal Land Administration officer, Lands Commissioner Consultant on Large Scale land Acquisition, urged the Queen Mothers to champion a crusade for comprehensive national land inventory to build a viable database of stool, skin, public lands, family lands, individual lands, disputed and undisputed lands.

Dr Adiabah also tasked them to champion the establishment of Queen Mothers Community Land Rights Secretariat, advocate for strengthening of customary land and secretariats and their integration into the formal system.

Ms Lois Aduamoah-Addo, a Representative of Women in Law and Development in Africa, speaking on the topic: “The role of Traditional authorities in mobilizing and promoting land rights of women” said the  charter of demands  of rural women in Ghana calls for sensitisation of leaders, religious and land sector actors, the public on laws and policies on land, ban harmful and oppressive cultural practices that undermine women’s rights including those that prohibit women to inherit land and other resources.

She said the charter also calls 50 per cent participation of women in decision-making bodies and implementation of land issues and matters including the valuation of land and payment of compensation for natural resources.

She said Government should enact laws to provide security and protection of women’s rights defenders and women and communities to have a say on what land investors and companies invest in their communities.

GNA