The Department of Land Economy of the College of Art and Built Environment (CABE), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, in collaboration with the Technical University of Munich, Germany (TUM) has organised a 2-day workshop on the use of Blockchain Technology in securing land rights and land registration in Ghana.
The workshop was specifically designed to teach participants how the use of Blockchain Technology would help address issues related to land rights in Ghana. The workshop focused on these topics; civil society and private sector perspectives, the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands (OASL) perspective, global perspective and the Legal and Institutional framework involved in securing land rights.
The Head of Department of Land Economy, Dr. Eric Paul Tudzi on behalf of the Provost of the College of Art and Built Environment (CABE), Professor John T. Bugri, welcomed participants to the workshop and hoped that by the end of the workshop, they would have become abreast with the technology.
Speaking on the purpose of the workshop, Director of TUM’s Masters and PhD programmes in Land Management and Land Tenure, Professor Walter de Vries revealed that the bedrock of the workshop was as a result of the partnership for Innovation and Sustainable Development that exists between TUM and KNUST over the years.
Professor de Vries explained that the registration of land transactions in Ghana is still incomplete as a result of the problems faced with the conventional ways of land registration such as corruption, land grabbing, gaps in registration, bureaucracy, among others, therefore, the possible solution was Blockchain.
According to Professor de Vries, ‘‘Blockchain is a technology that records transactions’’, therefore the goal was to discuss with participants the possibilities and limitations in the use of Blockchain.
The facilitators, Mr. James Ebenezer E. Dadson, Dr. Anthony Arko-Adjei, Mrs. Christie Esi Bobobee, Mrs. Nana Ama Yirrah, Mr. Emmanuel Noah jnr, Mr. Prince Donkor Ameyaw among others took participants through topics such as Legal and Institutional Framework for ensuring land rights in Ghana, Challenges to secure land rights in Ghana, Blockchain technology for transparency and improved land services delivery in Ghana, technical presentations and case studies in the use of Blockchain respectively.