President John Dramani Mahama has announced plans to present the Divestiture of Public Property Bill to Parliament, aimed at legally governing the sale, transfer, or privatization of state-owned assets to improve economic efficiency.
Speaking during his engagement with the Ghanaian diaspora in Lusaka, Zambia, President Mahama stressed that public property could not be sold without parliamentary approval.
“And so any public land processing will not be processed at the Lands Commission unless it is ratified in Parliament,” he said. “This will stop the rampant sale of government assets.”
President Mahama also outlined plans to digitize the Lands Registry using blockchain technology to curb double sales of family and stool lands.
“And a lot of times, people who go to buy lands don’t even go back to the Lands Commission to make a search,” he said. “Once we’ve digitized the records… they will have the record of the land from where it has passed to who and who owns it currently.”
The President revealed that a government committee had reviewed public lands nationwide, canceling several unprocessed leases he described as “public lands that were just distributed and looted.” He cited cases where prime lands in Accra were bought for GH¢150,000 and resold for $2 million.
Where properties have already been built and occupied, Mahama emphasized that the government would not demolish them but instead demand payment of the land’s true value.
“It would be difficult to say, look, we’re going to break this house and take the land back. And so in those cases where they have processed the title… we’re asking them to pay the true value of the land,” he said.
The Divestiture Bill, if passed, will require parliamentary consent before any auction or sale of public lands or state-owned facilities, ensuring greater accountability in the management of national assets.
