President John Dramani Mahama has inaugurated a new governing board of the National Lands Commission, pledging sweeping reforms to restore integrity and transparency in Ghana’s land administration system.
The President described the inauguration as “a bold reset” for land governance, citing years of mismanagement, corruption, and illegal sales of state lands.
He announced the lifting of a temporary ban on state land transactions, stressing that henceforth all allocations, leases, and sales must follow strict verification and oversight processes.
The reforms will focus on four pillars: restoring public confidence, reversing illegal land deals, digitizing land services with blockchain technology, and harmonizing statutory and customary systems. Over 300 young professionals are to be recruited and deployed to new district land offices to decentralize service delivery, with a target of processing land documents within 30 working days.
The President also raised concerns about poor gender representation on the governing board, which currently has only one woman member. He called for stronger legislation to enforce Ghana’s affirmative action policy, which requires at least 30% women’s participation in public boards.
He further directed a comprehensive audit of state lands acquired between 2017 and 2024, vowing that any illegally acquired lands would be reclaimed by government.
“The days of file manipulation, absenteeism, and deliberate delays to exact bribes must come to an end,” the President declared. “We borrow land from our children. Let us protect it for future generations.”
Speaking on behalf of the Sector Minister , the Deputy Minister, Hon. Sulemana Yusif (MP) said the exercise was carried out with “transparency and diligence,” ensuring representation from mandated institutions, including farmers’ associations and professional bodies.
On his part, the Chairman of the Board, Dr. Wordsworth Odame Larbi, accepting the responsibility and expressed his gratitude to government with a strong promise to devote themselves to resolve all challenges pertaining to land management.
The newly constituted boards will feed into the governing board of the Lands Commission at the national level.
