Ghana’s land economy may be on the brink of a significant shift following a recent media engagement by the Acting Administrator of Stool Lands, Mr. Gad Asorwoe Akwensivie, in which he announced that the Administrator of Stool Lands (OASL) will facilitate the establishment of 300 new Customary Land Secretariats (CLSs) in 2026.
Although the initiative is anchored in the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036), its implications extend well beyond legal compliance. At its core, the policy has the potential to reshape investment flows, create jobs, and reduce the cost of doing business in Ghana.
A Land Reform with Real Economic Consequences
Customary land is estimated to account for over 70 per cent of land ownership in Ghana and has long been both a strength and a challenge. While it provides communities with control over valuable assets, its rather unclear ownership structures, overlapping claims, and prolonged litigation have often delayed projects, increased transaction costs, and discouraged investors.
By expanding the Customary Land Secretariat framework from 110 existing secretariats to more than 400 nationwide, there will be a unified structure and consistency to land administration at the community level. Proper record-keeping, accessible land information, and local dispute-resolution mechanisms could significantly reduce the uncertainties that have traditionally surrounded customary land transactions.
From a business standpoint, this matters. Clear and reliable land information lowers the costs of undertaking due diligence, shortens transaction timelines, and reduces risk for developers, agribusinesses, infrastructure firms, and mining support services.
Job Creation and Local Economic Boost
According to the OASL, the initiative is expected to generate over 6,000 direct jobs, cutting across administration, ICT, accounting, surveying, legal services, and physical planning. These are not merely clerical positions but represent the growth of a decentralised professional services ecosystem embedded within traditional land-owning communities.
Beyond direct employment, the policy is likely to stimulate local economies through increased demand for supporting services such as surveying equipment, GIS technology, transport, and legal advisory services, areas where private sector participation is expected to expand.
Restoring Investor Confidence
One of the most persistent but less visible barriers to investment in Ghana has been land-related risk. Investors, particularly in real estate, renewable energy, and commercial agriculture often cite land disputes and tenure insecurity as major concerns.
By making Customary Land Secretariats mandatory for all land-owning stools, skins, families, and clans, and supporting this requirement with training and start-up resources, the OASL is signalling a clear shift away from informal practices towards more rule-based and documented land administration. For investors, this creates identifiable and reliable entry points for land acquisition and verification, reducing dependence on informal intermediaries.
Execution Will Be Key
The success of the initiative will ultimately depend on effective implementation, especially the quality of training, the digitisation of land records, and coordination between CLSs, the Lands Commission, and planning authorities. If these elements are properly aligned, the reform could mark a turning point in how land supports Ghana’s development agenda rather than holding it back.
What may appear at first glance to be an administrative reform is, in reality, a business-enabling intervention. By lowering land-related risks and professionalising customary land administration, the OASL’s 300-CLS initiative has the potential to unlock stalled investments, strengthen local economies, and improve Ghana’s overall competitiveness.
