The implementation of geographical information systems for land administration in Ghana

The current procedures for land administration in Ghana are outdated, time-consuming and inefficient. The land sector agencies have not fully embraced the information and computer technologies that are now available for storing, manipulating and displaying information about land and properties. After introducing the policy context and problems relating to land administration, the focus of this paper is on the articulation of a strategic framework for the research and development tasks required to implement geographical information systems (GIS) in the Lands Commission Secretariat (LCS) in Accra, the agency with primary responsibility for the administration of public lands. We identify the key requirements for GIS adoption and report the findings of an applied research project undertaken to introduce GIS in the ICS. In addition, a series of wider recommendations for GIS sustainability in the broader context of the land sector in Ghana are presented.