Ghana's Land Insecurity: A Major Hurdle to Development

Land is the foundation of every economy. It underpins housing, agriculture, industry, infrastructure and investment. Yet in Ghana, an overwhelming proportion of this vital asset remains legally insecure. The revelation by a Justice of the Court of Appeal, Justice Alexander Osei-Tutu, that over 98 per cent of land in the country cannot be registered with a title (See front page) should alarm policymakers and citizens alike. It is a structural defect in our land administration system whose socio-economic costs have been immense, enduring and largely underestimated. At the individual level, the consequences are devastating. Families spend life savings to acquire land, only to be dragged into protracted litigation that lasts years, sometimes decades. Multiple sales of the same parcel, boundary disputes, and competing claims by stools, families and private individuals have become routine. These disputes drain households financially and emotionally, disrupt livelihoods and, in extreme cases, lead to violent confrontations and loss of life. For many Ghanaians, land ownership has become a source of anxiety rather than security. The national cost is even more profound. Incessant land disputes clog the courts, diverting judicial time and public resources that could be channelled into productive sectors. Infrastructure projects—roads, schools, hospitals and housing—are delayed or abandoned because of unresolved ownership claims. Public works often attract huge compensation payments, inflating project costs and burdening the taxpayer. The cumulative effect is slower development and reduced value for money in public investment. Perhaps the most damaging impact is on investment. Secure land tenure is a basic requirement for domestic and foreign investors, particularly in sectors such as manufacturing, agro-processing, mining, renewable energy, tourism and real estate. When land cannot be registered for title, investors face uncertainty, heightened risk and higher transaction costs. Many simply look elsewhere. Although precise figures are difficult to establish, conservative estimates suggest that Ghana may have lost billions of dollars in potential investment over the past two decades due to insecure land tenure. Even a modest assumption—that the country loses $1–2 billion annually in unrealised or delayed land-dependent investments—points to a cumulative loss running into tens of billions of dollars. These are factories not built, farms not mechanised, jobs not created and tax revenues not collected. For a developing economy seeking industrialisation and inclusive growth, this is a crippling handicap. The irony is that Ghana has long recognised the superiority of land title registration. Introduced in 1986 and reinforced under the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036), title registration offers state-guaranteed, indefeasible ownership and significantly reduces multiple claims. Yet, four decades on, registration districts cover less than two per cent of the country’s land area, leaving more than 13 regions operating under the weaker deeds registration regime. This prolonged inertia is no longer defensible. The Daily Graphic calls for urgent and practical measures to deal with the problem. The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources must, as a matter of priority, declare additional registration districts across all regions, beginning with regional capitals, fast-growing municipalities and economic corridors. This should follow a clear, time-bound national rollout plan, not ad hoc declarations. Again, the Lands Commission must be adequately resourced—financially, technically and logistically—to undertake systematic land adjudication, mapping and digitisation. Modern geospatial technology should be deployed to demarcate parcels accurately and create a unified national land information system accessible to the public. Furthermore, customary land authorities must be fully integrated into the process. Stools, skins and families control a significant proportion of land, and their cooperation is indispensable. Strengthening Customary Land Secretariats, standardising records and ensuring transparency in land allocations will reduce disputes at source. In addition, land registration procedures must be simplified, decentralised and made affordable. Lengthy delays and high costs discourage compliance and push transactions into informality. A citizen-friendly system, supported by public education, will encourage voluntary registration. Last but not least, political will is paramount. Land reform cannot succeed without sustained commitment at the highest level of government, backed by Parliament, the judiciary and traditional authorities. The cost of inaction is simply too high. Ghana cannot industrialise, urbanise or modernise on legally insecure land. The Daily Graphic therefore thinks making lands registrable is an economic necessity and a national imperative and we must act decisively without any further delay.