BACKGROUND

Licensed Surveyors are a body of authorized Surveyors to undertake the above services for and on behalf of the Director Survey and Mapping Division of the Lands Commission in accordance with Survey Act 1962, Act 127 and The Lands Commission Act 2008, Act 767.

The aims and objectives of the Licensed Surveyors Association of Ghana (LISAG) are among others “To ensure strict adherence to the land survey laws of Ghana” and further “To collaborate with all the land sector agencies in the formulation and implementation of policies to promote and protect land rights and sustainable development in Ghana”.

Of particular significance are the SURVEY ACT 1962, ACT 127 and the SURVEY (SUPERVISION AND APPROVAL OF PLANS) REGULATIONS, 1989 L I 1444 sections 6 and regulation 2 & 3 thereof respectively.

For the avoidance of any doubt section 6 (1) of Survey Act, states “No person other than an official surveyor, a licensed surveyor, or any public officer making or preparing any plan in the course of his duties as such shall survey any land for the purpose of preparing for attachment to any instrument of conveyance, leases, assignment, charge, or transfer.

(2) No person other than an official surveyor or a licensed surveyor shall certify any plan.
(3) Any person contravening the provision of this section shall be liable to a fine not exceeding two hundred penalty units or to imprisonment for a term       not exceeding six months.
(4) Nothing in this section shall apply to the mere copying of a plan”.

The public is to further note that by regulation (2) of LI. 1444” All records of approved plans which are in the custody of the Director of Surveys shall be the property of the Government but such records shall be open to the public for purposes of reference”. This is the reason why the records of a cadastral plan must be factual and of integrity for future reference to proof ownership and title.

Section 3 of LI 1444 says “No plan of any parcel of land attached to any instrument for the registration of such instrument shall be accepted by the Chief Registrar of Lands or the Registrar appointed pursuant to the provisions of the Land Registry Act, 1962 (Act 122) unless the plan has been approved by the Director of Surveys or any official surveyor authorized in that behalf in accordance with regulation 2 of these Regulations”.

Site plans on mining leases made by the Minerals Commission are to conform to the Survey Act 1962 Act 127. Regulation 15 of Land Title Registration Regulations 1986, LI 1341 requires Minerals and Mining Leases to be registered. Furthermore, please note Section 11 of the Timber Resource Management Act, 1997 Act 547 which states “A timber utilization contract shall not be entered into under this Act unless the relevant land has been surveyed in accordance with the Survey Act, 1962 (Act 127)”.

In pursuit to the forgoing, the New Land Act1036 (Land Act 2020) has been enacted to REVISE, HARMONISE and CONSOLIDATE the laws on land to ensure sustainable land administration and management, effective and efficient land tenure and to provide for the related matters as per cadastral Surveying.

LICENSED SURVEYORS ASSOCIATION OF GHANA (LiSAG)

LiSAG through this notice wish to bring to the attention of the general public and the land sector agencies and all statutory Institutions who rely on site plans for official reasons, the rampant disregard of existing laws by the activities of unqualified and particularly unauthorized person carrying themselves out as “land surveyors” and thus misleading the general public with the forging of letterheads, signatures and sometimes entire cadastral plan for valuable consideration leading to severe consequences of litigation and loss of lawfully acquired interest in land.

LiSAG in consultation with the Director, Survey and Mapping Division (SMD) of the Lands Commission has therefore instituted a process commencing from the 1 of February 2017 to address the above challenges to weed out all the undesirable persons and maintain integrity in the preparation of cadastral plans for land registration throughout Ghana.

The public is to strictly adhere to the following instruction when in need of the services of a licensed surveyor for the demarcation and survey of their land.

STEP ONE

• Request the services of an official Surveyor from the Director of Survey & Mapping Division or his regional representatives in the Regions for official land survey services
  
  OR
• Contact a Licensed Surveyor who is in good standing from the list of surveyors in the publication by the Lands Commission in the National Dailies or at the CSAU’s in all the Regions. Licensed Surveyors are available in all the regions of Ghana or if you need help; they could be reached through any of the following places.

• Secretariat of the Association or the
• The Director of Survey & Mapping Division of the Lands Commission or his regional representatives.

STEP TWO

Discuss your request for services with your Licensed Surveyor and make the initial deposit of a minimum THREE HUNDRED Ghana Cedis (GH¢300.00) as part of the total cost of services required for a parcel of land measuring not more than 0.23 of an acre. The cost of survey as per the scale of fees of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors, to which we all belong is EIGHT HUNDRED GHANA CEDIS (GH¢800.00) for a parcel of land measuring not more than 0.23 of an acre. Additional charges may be required depending on the nature of the services so desired.

NOTE: THIS IS NOT APPLICABLE UNDER STEP ONE (A)

STEP THREE

Your Licensed Surveyor will go through the appropriate processes at the Customer Services Access Unit (CSAU) of the Lands Commission in the regions where they exist or the Regional Offices of SMD in the regions. The Licensed Surveyor will organize a team for the demarcation, survey and plan preparation. Customers/Clients are to liaise with Him /Her for feedbacks.

CONCLUSION

The primary aim of this procedure is to bring integrity into the cadastral plan preparation process which is regulated by law.

Unauthorized persons working in the land sector agencies and Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority formerly Department of Town and Country Planning some of whom are alleged to be doing surveys of lands are reminded to seek the approval of their respective heads of department and to treat any request for official survey to them as official request and deal with them in the appropriate manner.

This procedure will further reduce the incidence of litigation and wrongful description of landed properties which tends to mislead Commercial Banks, Financial Institutions and Mortgage Companies and particularly the Judiciary who rely on the accuracy of a plan to adjudicate on ownership. It will address the unethical behavior of some of the Licensed Surveyors’ who certify surveyed plans they have not supervised.

It is expected that the public will cooperate with the Association in the implementation of the process which invariably will support the intended government policy on intelligent property identification and personal identification soon to be rolled out.

For any misrepresentation by any UNQUALIFIED and UNAUTHORIZED persons purporting to be licensed surveyors should be reported to the police or the director of survey & mapping division or his authorized representatives.

“UN-AUTHORIZED SURVEYORS” means any person who is not a licensed surveyor or any staff of Survey and Mapping Division (SMD) who is not authorized by the director of survey & mapping division or the regional surveyor in the region and;

“UNQUALIFIED PERSON” means any person who is not a licensed surveyor in accordance with the survey act.