Management, in its quest to build capacity of staff, has organized a two-day training programme to empower its Gender and RTI focal persons to enable them effectively execute their mandate across the entire country.
The two day training which commenced on Thursday , February 29. 2024 was held at the Sky Plus Hotel in Ho, the Volta Regional Capital.
The participants were drawn from the Eastern, Volta and OTI Regions with each region being represented by a focal person and the Regional Lands officer.
The Acting Volta Regional Lands Officer, Mr. Mark Gudu who stood in for the Deputy Executive Secretary in charge of Corporate Services, Surv. Jones Ofori-Boadu, lauded management for their commitment to building the capacity of staff and urged all participants to place premium on the workshop and share ideas and transfer knowledge.
Mr. Alexis Kutu, the SMD Gender focal person, in his presentation indicated that the Lands Commission seeks to consciously transform its male-dominated workforce and structure it into a more gender- balanced organization.
He mentioned that, the total number of female staff at the Commission is 644 whilst the male staffs are 1389, making a total of 2033 staffs.
Madam Margaret Lamptey took her turn and exposed participants to the Gender Policy which according to her aims at establishing a clear vision and commitment towards guiding the process of gender mainstreaming to influence policies .
Touching on the achievements of the Gender Unit so far, she indicated that, Management through the Deputy Executive Secretary, Surv. Jones Ofori-Boadu, has secured two day care facilities for the Lands Commission. One which she said is located in the Greater Accra Regional Office with the items for the set up procured and ready to be put into use. She added that efforts are being made to start the operationalization of the one at the Greater Accra Regional Office.
She mentioned the Annual medical screening (Breast, prostrate and other general medical screening) also forms part of the Unit’s success stories
Madam Ruby Kemeh, spoke about sexual harassment at the workplace and the procedure for reporting the incidents.
On Sexual Harassment, Madam Ruby pointed out to participants that it included verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature and the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors.
Surv. Timothy Anyidoho, the Acting Greater Accra Regional Lands Officer, gave an overview of the Land Act , explaining the rationale and and the need to comply in practice in order not to fall foul to the Law.
Surv. Anyidoho touched on the Gender provisions in the Land Act 2020 (Act1036) which include :SECTION 47; Spousal Rights, SECTION 12; Protection of Land and Interest in Land, SECTION 50;…
and SECTION 98; Resolution on Land Disputes and a number of sections which generated very insightful discussions.
He however reiterated that the Act is gender neutral.
The day 2 of the workshop continued with a detailed presentation on the Provisions of the RTI Act by Mr. Augustine Boakye, RTI Officer at the Head Office who reiterated the need for Designated RTI Officers to be diligent and be guided by the Act to provide accurate and authentic information to applicants bearing in mind the nature of request, whether exempt or not .He entreated officers to make a determination on any request in close consultation with their 
Regional Lands Officers before putting together any response for an applicant not forgetting the fourteen day period within which the office should respond to the applicants.
He added that applicants are not obliged by any law to give a reason for requesting any information, however, the onus is on the officers to be able to decipher the nature of the request and provide appropriate responses to avoid any fines from the RTI Commission.
The day ended with a heart-felt appreciation from the Acting Regional Lands Officer to Management, facilitators and participants for ensuring successful a workshop.
Madam Priscilla Donkor on behalf of Management and the Gender Unit, thanked all participants and the Regional Lands Officer for support.
The two day training was impactful and very interactive.
END
COMMS UPDATES
