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Determination of Forgery Risk Indicators in Land Transaction Documents in Ghana
Article Number: SIS798423AI040124
4th January, 2024
Author(s):
Samuel Boamah Asiedu, Emmanuel Offei Akrofi, Eric Kwabena Forkuo
Abstract:
The multiplicity of land transactions takes place on
the same land parcel coupled with myriad documentation efforts by both
statutory and customary tenure systems. These are susceptible to fraud and
concomitant land disputes. Land transaction documentation flaws are a
significant cause of land ownership and boundary disputes in Ghana. The research investigated current land
transaction documents, and identifiable flaws, and explored probable means of
altering genuine land transaction records with the intent of deceiving the
innocent purchaser or unsuspecting vendor. An embedded mixed method of research
approach was adopted for the study. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken to
assess respondents’ knowledge of land acquisition and the acceptability of
various land documents as authentic enough to legitimize one’s interest in
land. Both cadastral plan and spatial planning extracts were key in identifying
authentic land transaction records based on geometrical accuracies and the
delineation of parcels. Results revealed that the availability of the affected
parcel was barred from any encroachment and boundary disputes, and prospective
buyers became forgery-risk-averse in ascertaining all other risk factors within
the transaction attribute records. However, conflicting ownership, the absence
of regional number-defaced seals on cadastral plans, site plans, and statutory declarations
without legal authority were considered viable forgery risk indicators. It was
recommended that the Government of Ghana should secure the creation and
establishment of a multipurpose digital cadastre to ensure sanity in the
Ghanaian land market.