The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has announced that a total of 8,160 public land lease applications processed between 2017 and 2024 have been reviewed following a presidential directive to halt such transactions.
He made the statement when he addressed the media at the Ministry’s conference room on Tuesday, February 17, 2026.
According to the Minister, the 8,160 applications reviewed comprised 4,176 direct allocations, 2,799 regularizations, 19 allocations relating to state bungalows, 108 land swap or public-private partnership arrangements, 795 subsequent transactions and 263 fresh allocations.
Mr. Buah indicated that the directive was aimed at safeguarding public lands from abuse and restoring discipline in land administration.
The review comes after President John Dramani Mahama on January 10, 2025, directed the Lands Commission to suspend all transactions involving public lands uncovered procedural lapses in several of the allocations.
“A number of these applications did not fully comply with the Lands Commission’s internal procedures. These lapses undermined transparency, accountability, and public trust,” the Minister noted.
He disclosed that all uncompleted transactions under the affected categories have been cancelled and applicants will be notified.
“Completed transactions will undergo a case-by-case review and any allocation found to have breached due process will be revoked,” he stated.
The Minister oulined a series of reforms to address the challenges identified which included the revision and standardization of the Public Land Application Form, stricter internal procedures at the Lands Commission, and mandatory written approval from the Minister before any public land allocation.
He indicated that a Public Land Protection Task Force will be established to prevent encroachment and unauthorized development.
He also explained that although the temporary ban on public land transactions has been lifted, all future allocations must strictly comply with the new reforms.
“Public lands are vested in trust for the people of Ghana and must be managed in the public interest,” he reiterated.
Mr. Buah further disclosed that a committee was constituted to review public land leases across all sixteen regions of Ghana.
The committee was chaired by the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Yusif Sulemana.
Other members of the committee included Collins Dauda, Member of Parliament for Asutifi South and Chairman of the Lands Committee, Prof. Bruce Kofi Banoeng-Yakubu, Prof. Kwame John, Esq. and Rev. Dr. Lawrence Tetteh.
