By: Aminata Sesay
The Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Country Planning has launched a transformative three-day capacity-building training program at Sierra Palms, bringing together key stakeholders from across Sierra Leone’s land administration ecosystem.
This training initiative, which commenced earlier this week, forms part of a broader reform agenda aimed at strengthening institutions and developing the skills required to modernize land administration. By equipping officials with cutting-edge tools and insights into global best practices, the Ministry seeks to streamline land services and build greater public trust in land governance processes.
What distinguishes this initiative is its inclusive and collaborative approach. Participants include representatives from major academic institutions such as the University of Sierra Leone, Njala University, and Eastern Technical University, alongside technical staff from the National Land Commission, key ministry departments, and other government agencies. This cross-sectoral involvement reflects a shared commitment to reforming and professionalizing land services nationwide.
Training sessions focus on critical thematic areas including Fit-For-Purpose Land Administration, international standards in land governance, modern surveying technologies, and the fundamentals of land title registration. These areas are designed not only to impart knowledge but also to promote collaboration and inspire innovative solutions to persistent land-related challenges in Sierra Leone.
The program is facilitated by international experts from Kadaster the Netherlands’ national land registry agency and academics from the School of Land Administration and the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC) at the University of Twente. Their participation highlights the importance of global partnerships in building transparent, efficient, and technologically advanced land administration systems.
Participants have expressed strong enthusiasm for the training, viewing it as a valuable opportunity to learn, network, and rethink approaches to land administration at both policy and operational levels.
Ministry officials emphasized that this training marks the beginning of a long-term investment in human capital. “We are laying the foundation for a more efficient and accountable land sector,” a senior official stated. “This is not just a workshop it marks the start of a sustained journey toward transformative change.”
Additional training sessions and follow-up workshops are planned as part of the Ministry’s ongoing commitment to continuous professional development and service improvement.
As land issues continue to affect livelihoods, investment, and national development, this training initiative signals a strategic vision: to build a land administration system that is inclusive, innovative, and capable of meeting the demands of a dynamic and evolving society.