KEY POINTS
- Ghana relaxes the ban on buying and selling state land.
- Mahama promises more openness, digitization, and better supervision.
- The new changes are meant to stop unlawful deals and build trust in the government.
Ghana has lifted the temporary ban on state land transactions, eight months after it was introduced to allow for a full review of the country’s land administration system.
President John Mahama announced the move on Tuesday, September 2, during the inauguration of the reconstituted National Lands Commission in Accra. The ban, which went into effect on January 10, 2025, was meant to fix long-standing problems. With the way public lands are allocated and managed, such as inefficiencies, irregularities, and encroachments.
Mahama says land reforms are underway
Mahama said the suspension gave government “valuable insights into the weaknesses of our current system and the urgent reforms required.” With new accountability measures in place, he stressed that all future allocations, leases, and sales of state lands will undergo transparent procedures, digital verification, and stronger oversight.
“This does not mark a return to business as usual,” Mahama said. “It signals the beginning of a more disciplined era in land management.”
New rules for state land transactions
Furthermore the government’s reform agenda is anchored on four key pillars. Restoring public confidence in land administration, reversing illegal transactions through reclamation of encroached lands, digitizing and decentralizing services for efficiency, and harmonizing customary and statutory systems for coherence.
Officials said the changes are further designed to rebuild trust and modernize a sector long plagued by disputes and fraud.
Land disputes are still a big cause of lawsuits and conflict in Ghana, especially in areas that are growing quickly. Analysts say the new measures could help reduce conflicts while boosting investor confidence in real estate and infrastructure development.
Mahama also emphasized that reforms will continue alongside stricter monitoring. “We are embarking on a bold reset,” he said, urging both citizens and institutions to uphold fairness and justice in land dealings.
