Ag. Administrator of Stool Lands

Dr. Gad Asorwoe Akwensivie as the Acting Administrator of Stool Lands. Gad will be leading the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands to implement government’s agenda to transform land management and administration for accelerated development in collaboration with traditional authorities, Lands Commission, the National Development Planning Commission, and the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority, and relevant agencies.

Dr. Gad is a Surveyor, Lawyer, Lecturer and Farmer. He comes to the job with twenty-five years of local practice with experience in land administration from Rwanda, South Africa, The United Kingdom, Australia, and the USA. Before his appointment, he was an Associate at Awoonor Law Consultancy, Principal Valuer at Felix Dzubey and Co., and Head of Legal and ADR at COLANDEF Land & Property Rights.

Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands (OASL): After national service in 1999 at OASL, Gad was employed in 2000 to the rank of Assistant Stool Lands Officer. He rose through the ranks from Assistant Stool Lands Officer to Stool Lands Officer, to Senior Stool Lands Officer, to Principal Stool Lands Officer, to Deputy Chief Stool Lands Officer. Gad served on the Audit Committee and was a Member of Management for 4 years. Over a period of 23 years worked in the Operations Department on mining, communication, legal and research. He worked on the implementation of the Land Administration Project and with Parliament on the passage of the Land Act 2020 (Act 1036). He also worked with the Ministry of Justice and Attorney Generals Department, the Lands Commission, and the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority. Gad worked with Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, National House of Chiefs, the Regional Houses of Chiefs, Traditional Councils and land-owning communities. He represented OASL in court, appeared before the Judgement Debt Commissioner and the Constitutional Review Commission. He was the Chief Editor for Our Heritage Journal of OASL. In 2023 he moved into private practice.

Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR): Between 2000-23, Gad served on MLNR Presidential Transition Committees, the MLNR Research and Statistics Working Group, MLNR Procurement Committees, MLNR Website & Library Development Committee, MLNR Annual Meet-the-Press Committee, and was Chief Editor for MLNR LANAR Newsletter. Gad served on the Communications & Safeguards Committee, the Land Administration Project Procurement Committee and was Editor for LAP website and news magazine.

Ministry of Finance: From 2008-16, whiles at OASL, Gad served on the Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI) Multi-Stakeholder Group at the Ministry of Finance.

Ministry of Works and Housing: In 2009, whiles at OASL Gad was nominated by the President of the Republic to serve on the Public Servants Housing Loan Scheme Board (PSHLSB) at the Ministry of Works and Housing where he became Chair from 2013-16.

Development Partners: Gad worked closely with development partners including the World Bank, African Development Bank, GIZ (then GTZ) and land-based Non-Governmental Organizations such as COLANDEF Land and Property Rights. Five times in 5 consecutive years from 2015-19, Gad was invited by the World Bank to speak at the bank’s annual land conference in Washington D.C., USA where he helped to explain issues and trends in land-based Investments in Ghana and Africa. Gad is been a regular participant of the Conference on Land Policy in Africa by the tripartite consortium consisting of the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank, and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

Education: Gad holds: BSc. Land Economy, LLB Laws, MSc. Environment and Development, MBA Finance and Doctor of Business Administration Degrees from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (Law Faculty), University of East Anglia – Norwich, London College of Management Studies, and the University of Leicester respectively. He holds a Barrister of law certificate from the Ghana School of Law and a number of diplomas on land management. He is a Fellow of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors where he served on the Valuation and Estate Surveying Divisional Committee, Research Committee and the Board of Examiners. He is an honorary consultant at the Centre for Business & Economic Research (UK), member of the Ghana Bar Association, the International Federation of Surveyors, and Commonwealth Association of Surveying & Land Economy. Currently, Gad is the President of the African Real Estate Society (Ghana).

Publications: Gad has over 30 publications including a text book used by students and customary land managers. His most recent book titled: An Introduction to Customary Land Secretariats in Ghana was published in 2022. Other books by Gad include the Handbook on Land, Property & Estate Management in Ghana and Buying Land and Property in Ghana. His works in 2015-19 have helped to explain the impact of donor funded projects in Ghana and Africa. In 2009, Gad helped to understand Ghanaians’ attitude towards pollution of rivers and water bodies. He also helped to explain why mortgage institutions have not functioned well in Ghana and how selective government interventions can help local banks perform better. He is the founder of the Journal of Business and Estate Management Research and serves as a resource person at home and abroad.