Lands Ministry to Inaugurate Taskforce to Halt Public Land Encroachment

The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has announced plans to commission a taskforce to clamp down on encroachment on public lands across the country.

This was one of the measures announced by the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Dr Yusif Sulemana, during a press conference on March 11, 2026.

According to him, the Public Land Protection Taskforce will be responsible for preventing encroachment on state lands, halting unauthorised developments and prosecuting offenders where necessary.

Announcing the lifting of the temporary suspension on public land transactions, he said a list of over 8,000 public land applications reviewed will soon be published on the websites of the Ministry to enhance transparency.

He added that the temporary suspension on public land transactions has now been lifted, although all services will operate strictly under the new reforms.

Reforms
As part of reforms, the Deputy Minister said a new premium framework for public land leases, which requires that at least 70 per cent of the assigned market value of public land be paid upfront, with the remaining 30 per cent spread over the tenure of the lease as ground rent, had been introduced.

According to him, the reform is designed to enhance revenue generation for the state and prevent situations where individuals paid widely varying premiums for similar lands in the past.

He further highlighted the revision of the Public Land Application Form, popularly known as Form 5, which will now serve as the single mandatory application instrument for all public land transactions nationwide.

The revised form will be used for both new applications and reapplications by individuals whose earlier applications were cancelled during the recent review exercise.

To enhance accessibility and efficiency, the Lands Commission has also been directed to publish the form on its official website to allow applicants to download, complete and submit their applications electronically.

The Deputy Minister added that the Ministry had undertaken a comprehensive review of the Lands Commission’s internal processes for allocating public lands, which now involves a defined processing application, with stronger internal checks and verification mechanisms introduced to ensure transparency and traceability in decision-making.

“Significantly, no public land will be allocated without the prior approval of the Minister, a measure expected to strengthen ministerial oversight and ensure that allocations align with national policy objectives,” he said.

Another major reform announced at the briefing is the standardisation of land market values for estates across the country.

According to Sulemana, the Ministry and the Lands Commission have compiled reliable market values for several prime estates, including over 30 estates within the Greater Accra Region.

He explained that these values will be published on the Lands Commission’s website to guide the assessment of land premiums and eliminate discretionary pricing, ensuring fairness and value for money in all public land allocations.

Meanwhile, he disclosed that processes have been initiated for procurement for the national digitalisation of Ghana’s land administration system, funded largely through the Lands Commission’s internally generated fund.

This, he said, will significantly modernise land services and reduce human interference in land transactions.

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