Mahama Lifts Ban On State Land Sale
President John Dramani Mahama has announced the lifting of the ban on the sale of state lands.
It comes after successfully reviewing the existing processes.
Speaking at the inauguration of the newly constituted Board of the Lands Commission, President Mahama said the exercise has yielded valuable insights into the weaknesses of the current system and the urgent reforms that are required.
“Today, with the inauguration of the new Commission and the adoption of robust accountability measures, I’m pleased to announce that the ban on land transactions has been lifted.”
He was quick to add that the lifting is not a signal for a return to business as usual, but a signal that a new discipline era of land management had set in.
Mahama also noted that all land transaction allocation, lease or sale must now strictly comply with transparent processes, digital verification and oversight mechanisms.
This is aimed at correcting a national “tragedy of greed, impunity and dysfunction.”
“Indeed, no area of our national life is in greater need of a reset than our land administration system. Our ancestors taught us that land is sacred; however, successive years of mismanagement compounded by political interference have left our land governance system broken and vulnerable.”
As part of the resetting efforts in the land sector, he said his government was aimed at restoring public confidence in land administration through transparency, fairness and justice and reversing illegal land transactions, reclaiming encroached lands and protecting public assets.
The government further seeks to digitalise, modernise and decentralise land services to ensure access and efficiency, as well as harmonise customary and statutory land systems to promote equity and coherence.
Story by Hajara Fuseini
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