President John Dramani Mahama has announced plans to introduce legislation in Parliament to regulate the sale and lease of public property, as part of efforts to curb the widespread and undervalued disposal of government lands.

Addressing Ghanaians living in Zambia, the President said his administration had uncovered troubling cases in which state lands were sold at significantly low prices, only for buyers to resell them at vastly inflated values.

“We have seen situations where people acquire government land for as little as GHS150,000 and then turn around to sell the same land for as much as $2 million,” President Mahama said.

“These are prime properties, yet the prices at which they are initially sold and later resold simply do not add up.”

He revealed that a committee has been set up to review the status of public lands in Accra and other parts of the country.

According to him, transactions involving lands whose titles had not been finalised have been suspended and the lands reclaimed, while owners of properties that have already been developed will be required to pay their true market value.

“I intend to bring a bill before Parliament on the divestiture of public property,” he said. “Any sale of public assets must have the approval of the representatives of the people. Going forward, no public land transaction will be processed by the Lands Commission unless it has been ratified by Parliament. This will put an end to the unchecked sale of government assets.”

The proposed legislation is expected to strengthen oversight, improve transparency and enhance accountability in the management and disposal of state-owned property.