Resolving persistent land disputes in the Eastern Region could improve investor confidence in tourism, real estate and other property-related projects, with traditional authorities being urged to make “litigation-free land available to investors” to support development.
Presidential Advisor on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development, Goosie Obuadum Tanoh, made the call at the maiden Eastern Regional Expo in Koforidua, arguing that resolving land disputes would create certainty for investors planning long-term projects.
He said land could be leased rather than sold, allowing communities to “retain ownership while benefiting from development” and creating a structure through which traditional authorities can preserve their interests while attracting private capital.
The issue is important for tourism and real estate projects, where investors commit substantial capital to hotels, resorts, housing and commercial properties with long payback periods. Greater certainty over land ownership could reduce the risk of projects being disrupted by competing claims or prolonged litigation.
It could also improve the attractiveness of the region to Ghanaians in the diaspora seeking to invest closer to their families back home. Clearer land rights and more secure transactions may give diaspora investors greater confidence to commit savings to residential property, hospitality and other real estate projects.
The Eastern Region already has a sizeable investment base. Deputy Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Hon. Sampson Ahi, said the region recorded 44 wholly Ghanaian-owned projects valued at more than US$1.9 billion between 1994 and December 2025, alongside 164 foreign-backed projects across agriculture, manufacturing, services, tourism and trade.
Mr Ahi said the Expo provides a platform to “showcase the region’s economic potential” and move beyond simply promoting resources towards deliberately converting that potential into “revenue, jobs and improved livelihoods”.
Tourism Minister Abla Dzifa Gomashie also called for “stronger collaboration among tourism, trade and investment stakeholders” to transform the region’s natural and cultural resources into sustainable economic opportunities.
The Expo, held under the theme “Unlocking Opportunities for Sustainable Trade, Tourism and Investment,” has therefore highlighted land security as part of the wider investment environment needed to convert the region’s economic potential into bankable projects.
For the Eastern Region, providing “litigation-free land available to investors” alongside flexible tenure arrangements could reduce a key source of uncertainty in property investment, while allowing traditional authorities and communities to maintain an economic interest in land as tourism, housing and commercial developments take shape.
