Lands and Natural Resources Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah has said that after examining 8,160 leases executed or commenced between 2017 and 2024 throughout all 16 regions, the government will revoke all outstanding public land deals and re-examine completed ones.
President John Dramani Mahama ordered the extensive action after a statewide audit revealed that state properties were often sold for as little as 1% of their market value, losing the state of large sums of money and eroding public confidence.
The revisions will increase the premiums for public land to at least 70% of its assessed market worth. Additionally, the government will release beneficiary lists by region, starting with Greater Accra, and all future allocations will need ministerial approval.
Mr. Buah stated during a press conference in Accra that Cabinet has given its approval for the prompt execution of the suggestions made by a committee that was formed last year to examine public land leases.
“The establishment of this committee underscores government’s firm commitment to restoring public confidence in land administration and ensuring that public lands are managed with integrity, efficiency and in the best interest of national development,” he remarked.
The committee examined 4,176 direct allocations, 2,799 regularisations, 19 allocations relating to state bungalows, 108 land-swap or public-private partnership arrangements, 795 subsequent transactions and 263 fresh allocations.
The minister claimed that a number of applications and allocations did not completely adhere to Lands Commission regulations, which compromised accountability and transparency and left the system vulnerable to possible misuse.
All pending transactions in the impacted categories will be annulled, and applicants will be properly informed, in order to rectify the situation. Any allocation that is shown to have circumvented due process will be withdrawn after a case-by-case review of completed transactions.
“For the avoidance of doubt and to ensure consistency in implementation, a transaction will be treated as completed where a formal offer has been issued and accepted by the applicant. Transactions that do not meet this threshold will be treated as uncompleted for the purposes of this exercise,” he said.
Region-by-region, lists of both finished and incomplete applications will be posted on the websites of the Ministry and Lands Commission.
After the reform process is over, impacted applicants will be able to reapply.
A Public Land Protection Task Force has been established, the Public Land Application Form (Form 5) has been reviewed, the Lands Commission’s internal procedures have been tightened, legislation has been put in place to anchor the reforms, public land premiums have been revised, and market value data for designated land clusters has been compiled.
Additionally, Mr. Buah said that the Lands Commission’s functions, which included leasing, processing, and regularisation of public lands, had been temporarily removed.
“All activities can resume immediately, but strictly in accordance with the new reforms and procedures announced today. This will ensure that every transaction going forward adheres to the principles of transparency, accountability and value for money, while safeguarding the interests of both the state and legitimate applicants,” he said.
He pointed out that public lands are entrusted to the president in trust for the people of Ghana and must be managed in the public interest to promote fair access, public infrastructure, and national development.
67 percent of the Land Bank and Digitisation Project, an initiative to increase efficiency, transparency, and public trust in land administration for the benefit of current and future generations, will be financed by the ministry, which has secured full retention of the Lands Commission’s internally generated funds.
Source: newsthemegh.com