The world over, land is a major economic asset required for growth and development; however, in Ghana, for decades, it has remained a source of confusion, conflict, and lost opportunity.
Land, in Ghana, has become a major source of death, litigation, and disintegration of families, despite its huge economic growth and development potential.
But there is good news. CDD-Ghana Fellow and board member of Ecobank, Hene Aku Kwapong, believes the situation is not beyond repair; it can be salvaged.
He therefore maintains that unless the country undertakes a bold structural reset, land will continue to trap the economy in stagnation instead of powering growth.
In an extensive write-up on the subject sighted by The High Street Journal, Hene Aku Kwapong notes that Ghana’s land system is “running on broken software,” where oral histories compete with family narratives, unregistered plots multiply, and chiefs or individuals act as landlords with wide discretionary powers.
The results, he says, are the costly cycle of disputes, double sales, fraudulent claims, and chaotic development, discouraging investors and stifling job creation.
In the spirit of the current government’s reset agenda, the CDD-Ghana Fellow is also proposing four powerful reforms, each aimed at turning land from a battleground into a productive national asset.
The Need for Universal Leasehold
A Universal Leasehold system, he says, would no longer put land under the control of private allodial ownership. Instead, the state and stools would hold all allodial rights formally, while citizens and businesses secure long-term leases.
This removes the personal discretion that often fuels conflict and uneven access.
“All allodial rights should be vested in the state and stools, but only through institutions, not individuals. Citizens and businesses hold long-term leases. This eliminates the discretion that fuels conflict,” he suggested.
Establishment of Land Trusts
The CDD-Ghana fellow is advocating for the creation of Land Trusts for all stool and state lands. These trusts, not individual chiefs or family heads, would become the only bodies allowed to transact land.
Chiefs would hold ceremonial roles while land management becomes fully transparent, audited, and professional, likening it to similar systems in Japan and local land boards in the United States.
He says, “These trusts become the only lawful transacting entities. Chiefs become ceremonial fiduciaries, not land dealers. Trusts operate under statutory oversight, with audited accounts and public transparency.”
Compulsory Registration
Aku Kwapong further calls for Mandatory Registration. Put simply, he says, if it isn’t registered, it cannot be treated as land in law. This strict rule, used in Poland and Japan, wipes out the ambiguity that leads to overlapping claims.
It makes written, verified documentation the only basis for ownership, ending reliance on oral accounts or ancestral stories.
Outlaw Behaviours that Undermine the System
The board member of Ecobank maintains that another reset is needed to outlaw behaviours that undermine the system. This includes automatic demolition of any structure built without proper registration or permits, giving oral claims zero legal weight, and criminalising private demolitions by individuals or groups.
However, enforcement, he argues, must only be handled by the land trust or local authorities. He states that “No registration, no permit. No permit, no building. If you build anyway, the structure must come down, without exception.”
The New Juaben Land Trust – A Case Study for Ghana
To illustrate the transformation, Kwapong describes a simple example using the New Juaben Land Trust. He narrates that a developer seeking 50 acres in New Juaben would deal only with the New Juaben Land Trust.
Every step, from checking maps to issuing leases and collecting payments, happens through one transparent, accountable, audited system. Chiefs receive fixed stipends, not irregular land money. No confusion, no competing claims, no shortcuts.
The Bottomline
These reforms, Hene Aku Kwapong believes, are not just administrative; they are the foundation for national progress.
He cites that Poland, Japan, South Korea, and even Peru show that nations can build order in their land administration. He believes that Ghana can also sanitize the system, but only by choosing institutions over personalities, documentation over story, and universal rules over discretionary authority.
“If Ghana puts order into land, it puts order into its future. If it does not, no reform, economic, political, or social, will stand on firm ground,” he concluded.
