Sweeping Public Lands Reforms …Armah Buah Annuls All Uncompleted Transactions Between 2017 And 2024

The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has announced a comprehensive review of 8,160 public land lease applications processed between 2017 and 2024, following a presidential directive to suspend such transactions.

Addressing the media at the Ministry’s conference room, the Minister explained that the review was initiated after President John Dramani Mahama, on January 10, 2025 ordered the Lands Commission to halt all dealings in public lands, due to identified procedural irregularities.

According to Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the 8,160 applications examined included 4,176 direct allocations, 2,799 regularisations, 19 allocations involving state bungalows, 108 land swap or public-private partnership arrangements, 795 subsequent transactions, and 263 fresh allocations.

He stated that the directive was aimed at protecting public lands from abuse and restoring discipline, transparency, and accountability within the land administration system.

“A number of these applications did not fully comply with the Lands Commission’s internal procedures. These lapses undermined transparency, accountability and public trust,” the Minister noted.

As part of the outcome of the review, all uncompleted transactions under the affected categories have been cancelled and applicants will be duly notified.

Completed transactions, he added, will undergo a thorough case-by-case assessment, with any allocation found to have breached due process facing revocation.

The Lands Minister further outlined a series of reforms designed to address the shortcomings identified.

These include the revision and standardisation of the Public Land Application Form, the strengthening of internal procedures at the Lands Commission, and a new requirement for mandatory written approval from the Minister before any public land allocation is finalised.

In addition, a Public Land Protection Task Force will be established to prevent encroachment and unauthorised development on state lands.

Although the temporary suspension on public land transactions has now been lifted, the Minister emphasised that all future allocations must strictly adhere to the newly introduced reforms.

“Public lands are vested in trust for the people of Ghana and must be managed in the public interest,” he reiterated.

The Minister also disclosed that a committee has been constituted to review public land leases across all sixteen regions of Ghana.

The committee is chaired by the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Yusif Sulemana.

Other members include Collins Dauda, Member of Parliament for Asutifi South and Chairman of the Lands Committee; Bruce Kofi Banoeng-Yakubu; Kwame John and Lawrence Tetteh.

The sweeping reforms mark a significant step by the Ministry to safeguard state lands and reinforce public confidence in the country’s land administration system.

 

 

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