GhIS calls for laws to deal with quack surveyors

The President of the Ghana Institute of Surveyors (GhIS), Dr Anthony Arko-Adjei, has called for the regulation of the profession to deal with unprofessional surveyors in the country.

He explained that the lack of adequate laws to regulate the profession made it impossible to deal with the threat unprofessional surveyors posed to society.

Dr Arko-Adjei was speaking at the end of the closing ceremony of this year’s International Federation of Surveyors Conference in Accra on Thursday.

“Most of the people you see around, some of them are not trained. But unfortunately for us, we don’t have the law on our side to deal with these people. And even if you want to deal with them and they tell you they are no more with your institution, there is nothing you can do,” Dr Arko-Adjei said.

“We need laws to be able to bring the so-called surveyors to book and punish them for what they are doing,” he added.

Furthermore, he emphasised the need for the passage of the Survey Council Bill which was currently with the Attorney-General and had been “on the table for 25 years” into law to help address issues regarding the profession.

Dr Arko-Adjei also advised the general public to be mindful of surveyors who provided plans, such as valuation and quantity plans to avoid any misfortune, adding that GhIS had begun to issue stamps to its members for easy identification.

For his part, The President of the Licensed Surveyors Association (LiSAG) and Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the Conference, Mr Samuel Larbi Darko said he was impressed about the organisation of the 5-day event and about the enthusiasm shown by other nationals, as well as the knowledge on technicalities of best practices shared.

According to Mr Darko, the best way to address the issue of galamsey was to pin pinpoint and demarcate where the minerals were, while restricting illegal miners to the demarcated area.

The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Jinapor, in his remarks, said unlike other continents, lands in Ghana were owned by stools, skins, clans and families, which called for a robust and rigorous systems for their management to serve developmental needs.

The government through his ministry, he said was implementing an Urban Redevelopment Scheme to help in the redevelopment of prime lands in urban areas.

Additionally, Mr Jinapor assured of the government’s commitment to investing in capacity building, technological advancements and policy reforms to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the land sector.

BY BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY