Ghana

Government Introduces New Public Land Lease Policy Requiring 70% Upfront Premium

The government has rolled out a new policy framework governing the lease of public lands, introducing a payment structure that requires prospective leaseholders to pay a substantial portion of the land’s value upfront. Under the new arrangement, applicants will be required to pay at least 70 per cent of the assessed market value of public land as an initial premium, while the remaining 30 per cent will be spread across the lease period in the form of ground rent.

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The Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Yusif Sulemana, announced the reform at a press briefing in Accra. He explained that the new framework was designed to ensure the state receives fair value from public land transactions while also boosting government revenue. According to him, the changes are based on recommendations from the Review of the Lease of Public Lands Committee, which were subsequently approved by Cabinet. The reforms aim to align public land allocations with broader national economic goals.

Stricter approval process

As part of the reforms, the ministry has reviewed the internal procedures of the Lands Commission to improve transparency and accountability in how public lands are allocated. The revised process introduces stricter verification and monitoring mechanisms at every stage of public land applications. Notably, the commission will no longer allocate public land without written approval from the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources. Alhaji Sulemana said this measure would strengthen ministerial oversight and ensure that land allocation decisions support national development priorities.

Publication of land values

To improve transparency in the valuation of public lands, the ministry and the Lands Commission have compiled market values for various estates across the country. These values will soon be published on the Lands Commission’s official website to serve as a reference for determining land premiums and assessing whether public land transactions deliver value for money.

Disclosure of applications

Another key recommendation approved by Cabinet is the publication of all applications for public land. The Lands Commission will release lists of both completed and pending applications submitted by individuals, companies and organisations. The disclosure exercise will begin with the Greater Accra Region before expanding to other regions. These records will be published on the websites of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Lands Commission in the coming weeks.

Suspension lifted

Meanwhile, the ministry has lifted the temporary suspension placed on some services of the Lands Commission, including the leasing, processing and regularisation of public lands. Officials say these services have now resumed but will operate under the newly introduced procedures aimed at ensuring transparency, accountability and value for money in public land transactions.

Digital land administration

In addition to the new leasing framework, the ministry has launched plans to digitise the country’s land administration system. The digitalisation project is expected to modernise land records management, reduce manual interference and improve efficiency in land transactions nationwide. To support the initiative, the government has approved full retention of internally generated funds by the Lands Commission. Of these funds, 67 per cent will be dedicated to financing the nationwide digitalisation programme.