FOURTH   REPUBLIC

Ghana Boundary Commission Act, 2010 Act 795

1.Establishment of the Ghana Boundary Commission

2.Objects of the Commission

3.Functions of the Commission

4.Powers of the Commission

5.Governing body of the Commission

6.Tenure of office of members of the Board

7.Meetings of the Board

8.Disclosure of interest

9.Establishment of Committees

Administrative and miscellaneous matters

10.Allowances

11.Collaboration with other bodies

12.Secretariat of the Commission

13.Staff of the Secretariat

14.Expenses of the Commission

15.Regulations

16.Interpretation

17.Repeal and savings

ACT 795

ACT

OF THE PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA

ENTITLED

GHANA BOUNDARY COMMISSION ACT, 2010

AN ACT to establish the Ghana Boundary Commission to undertake negotiations to determine and demarcate Ghana's land boundaries and delimit Ghana's maritime boundaries and to provide for related purposes.

DATE OF ASSENT: 19^TH MARCH 2010

PASSED by Parliament and assented to by the President:.

Establishment of the Commission

 Establishment of Ghana Boundary Commission

1. There is established by this Act a body known as the Ghana Boundary Commission.

Objects of the Commission

2. The objects of the Commission are to

(a) determine and demarcate Ghana's land boundaries and delimit Ghana's maritime boundaries in accordance with accepted principles of international law;

(b) protect and secure the interests of the Republic of Ghana in determining and demarcating land boundaries and delimiting maritime boundaries;

(c) adopt international best practice on the demarcation and delimitation of boundaries;

(d) promote a more effective management of the boundary demarcation and delimitation process; and

(e) ensure consideration of the full range of Ghanaian interests affected by the placement of boundaries.

Functions of the Commission

3. To achieve the objects, the Commission shall

(a) negotiate with a neighbouring country concerning a land or maritime boundary between Ghana and that country;

(b) undertake the physical demarcation and survey of land boundaries and the delimitation of maritime boundaries; (c) whenever determined by the Board, place buoys, or other maritime markers along some or all of the course of Ghana's maritime boundaries ,

(d) advise Government on the most appropriate strategy for the negotiation of a land or a maritime boundary;

(e) through negotiation, determine cross-boundary matters among communities;

(f) advise Government on International Conventions in relation to the country's borders and the signing and ratification of treaties related to land and maritime boundaries;

(g) address issues related to the use of natural resources that straddle land and maritime boundaries; and

(h) perform other functions ancillary to the demarcation and delimitation of boundaries.

Powers of the Commission

4. (1) The Commission may, for the purposes of physical demarcation of a land boundary, appoint official or licensed surveyors or any other officer with their agents, servants and workmen to enter land to demarcate or survey the land.

(2) A surveyor or officer demarcating or surveying boundaries may cause a notice to be served

(a) on any person owning, occupying, or otherwise interested in the abutting land or the land to be surveyed, and

(b) on any person employed on or connected with the management or cultivation of the land,

requiring the person to attend or be represented by an agent for deliberations on the demarcation at the time and place stated in the notice.

(3) A surveyor or officer may

(a) issue a notice calling on any person who is able to give information on the boundaries of land or in whose possession or power any document related to the boundaries is alleged to be, to meet the surveyor or officer and give the information or produce the document on the date and at a place specified in the notice;

(b) place boundary posts in the manner prescribed in the Technical Guidelines for Surveying and Mapping in Ghana in the line of demarcation; and

(c) for the delimitation of a maritime boundary or demarcation of a fresh water boundary,

                      (i)       conduct hydrographic surveys in accordance with international standards; and

                      (ii)      create and manage a database of the hydrographic surveys carried out on Ghana's maritime boundaries.

(4) A person who

(a) wilfully or unlawfully destroys, removes or alters a boundary post;

(b) fails to comply with an order in a notice served on that person; or

(c) wilfully obstructs, hinders or resists an authorised officer of the Commission in the course of official duty to demarcate a boundary,

commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding three years or to both.

Governing body of the Commission

5. (1) The governing body of the Commission is a Board consisting of (a) the Minister responsible for Lands and Natural Resources

as the chairperson,

(b) the Minister responsible for foreign Affairs,

(c) the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice,

(d) the Minister for Defence or the representative of the Minister, and

(e) one representative not below the rank of a Director from (i) the Ministry of Energy,

(ii) the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, (iii) the Ministry of Transport, and

(iv)the Ministry of Local Government.

(/) one representative from the National Security Council,

(g) one representative of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner,

(h) one representative of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors, (t) one representative of the Ghana Institution of Geoscientists, and

(;) one representative of a research or academic institution of relevance in the country nominated by the Minister,

(2) The President shall appoint the chairperson and members of the Board in accordance with article 70 of the Constitution.

(3) The Board shall perform the functions of the Commission.

Tenure of office of members

6. (1) A member of the Board shall hold office for a period of not more than four years and is eligible for re-appointment but a member shall not be appointed for more than two terms.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person whose membership is by virtue of that person's employment, in which case that person's membership continues until the body that that person represents determines otherwise.

(3) A member of the Board may at any time resign from office in writing addressed to the President through the Minister.

(4) A member of the Board who is absent from three consecutive meetings of the Board without sufficient cause ceases to be a member of the Board.

(2) A surveyor or officer demarcating or surveying boundaries may cause a notice to be served

(a) on any person owning, occupying, or otherwise interested in the abutting land or the land to be surveyed, and

(b) on any person employed on or connected with the management or cultivation of the land,

requiring the person to attend or be represented by an agent for deliberations on the demarcation at the time and place stated in the notice.

(3) A surveyor or officer may

(a) issue a notice calling on any person who is able to give information on the boundaries of land or in whose possession or power any document related to the boundaries is alleged to be, to meet the surveyor or officer and give the information or produce the document on the date and at a place specified in the notice;

(b) place boundary posts in the manner prescribed in the Technical Guidelines for Surveying and Mapping in Ghana in the line of demarcation; and

(c) for the delimitation of a maritime boundary or demarcation of a fresh water boundary,

     (i)       conduct hydrographic surveys in accordance with international standards; and

    (ii)      create and manage a database of the hydrographic surveys carried out on Ghana's maritime boundaries.

(4) A person who

(a) wilfully or unlawfully destroys, removes or alters a boundary  post;                                                                                                          l

(b) fails to comply with an order in a notice served on that

person; or

(c) wilfully obstructs, hinders or resists an authorised officer of the Commission in the course of official duty to demarcate a boundary,

commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not

exceeding three years or to both.              .

(5) The President may by a letter addressed to a member revoke the appointment of that member.

(6) Where a member of the Board is for a sufficient reason, unable to act as a member, the Minister shall determine whether the inability would result in the declaration of a vacancy.

(7) Where there is a vacancy

(a) under subsection (3) or (4) or (5),

(b) as a result of a declaration under subsection (6), or (c) by reason of the death of a member

the Minister shall notify the President of the vacancy and the President shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy.

Meetings of the Board

7. (1) The Board shall meet at least once every three months for the despatch of business at the times and in the places determined by the chairperson.

(2) The chairperson shall at the request in writing of not less than one-third of the membership of the Board convene an extraordinary meeting of the Board at the place and time determined by the chairperson.

(3) The quorum at a meeting of the Board is seven members.

(4) The chairperson shall preside at meetings of the Board and in the absence of the chairperson, the Minister responsible for Foreign Affairs or the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice shall preside.

(5) Matters before the Board shall be decided by a majority of the members present and voting and in the event of an equality of votes, the person presiding shall have a casting vote.

(6) The Board may co-opt a person to attend a Board meeting but that person shall not vote on a matter for decision at the meeting.

Disclosure of interest

8. A member of the Board who has an interest in a matter for consideration by the Board shall disclose in writing the nature of that interest and is disqualified from participating in the deliberations of the Board in respect of that matter.

Establishment of committees

9. (1) The Board may establish committees which include a Land and a Maritime Boundary Committee.

(2) A committee of the Board may consist of members of the Board or non-members or both to perform a function.

(3) A committee of the Board may be chaired by a member of the Board.

(4) Section 8 applies to members of committees of the Board.

Allowances

10. Members of the Board and members of a committee of the Board shall be paid the allowances approved by the Minister responsible for Finance.

Collaboration with other bodies

11. The Board shall collaborate with other relevant bodies in the performance of its functions under this Act.

Secretariat of the Commission

12. The Secretariat of the Commission shall be located at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.

Staff of the Secretariat

13. (1) The Minister shall provide the staff necessary for the performance of the functions of the Commission.

(2) The Chief Director of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources is the Secretary to the Board.

Expenses of the Commission

14. The expenses incurred by the Commission established under this Act shall be a charge on the Consolidated Fund.

Regulations

15. The Minister may, on the advice of the Board, by legislative instrument, make Regulations to

(a) provide for the methodology to demarcate a land boundary or delimit a maritime boundary;

(b) provide for the keeping of records; and

(c) provide for any other matter necessary for the effective implementation of the provisions of the Act.

Interpretation

16. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires

"boundary" means national or international boundary; "boundary post" means a pillar or a monument placed on land as a signal or guide to a boundary;

"buoy" means an anchored float serving as a navigation mark; "Commission" means the Commission established under section 1;

"Committee" means the Land or Maritime Committee or any other Committee established under this Act;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for Lands and Natural Resources; and

"relevant bodies" include the Lands Commission, Minerals Commission, Forestry Commission, the Ghana Maritime Authority and tertiary educational institutions.

Repeal and savings

17. (1) The Border Demarcation Commission Act, 1968 (NLCD 235) is hereby repealed.

(2) Despite the repeal of NLCD 235, the regulations, bye-laws, notices, orders, decisions, directions, appointments or any other act lawfully made or done under the repealed enactment and in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall be considered to have been made or done under this Act and shall continue to have effect until reviewed, cancelled or terminated.

(3) Each document prepared or issued under NLCD 235 shall continue in force as if kept, prepared or issued under the corresponding provisions of this Act.