President John Dramani Mahama has announced plans to introduce legislation in Parliament to regulate the sale of public property, a move aimed at curbing the widespread and often undervalued disposal of government lands.
Speaking during an address to Ghanaians living in Zambia, the President said his administration had uncovered instances where public lands were leased or sold at extremely low prices, only for buyers to resell them for massive profits.
“We found people buying government land at GHS150,000 and turning around to sell the same plots for $2 million,” Mahama said, adding “These are lands in prime areas and yet if you look at the value that they are giving and how much people buy them for and turn around and resell them, it just doesn’t make sense at all.”
He disclosed that a committee had been established to assess the status of public lands across Accra and other regions. According to him, transactions involving lands whose titles had not yet been processed were halted, and the lands reclaimed, while owners of already developed properties would be required to pay the true market value.
“I want to bring something to Parliament about divestiture of public property,” Mahama said. “If you want to sell public property, you would need the approval of the representatives of the people. So, any public land processing will not be processed at the Land Commission unless it is ratified in Parliament. This will stop the rampant sale of government assets.”
The proposed legislation is intended to tighten oversight over the sale of state assets and strengthen transparency and accountability in the management of public property.
