Mahama seeks parliamentary veto on state asset sales to curb looting

MAHAMA SEEKS PARLIAMENTARY VETO ON STATE ASSET SALES TO CURB6, President John Dramani Mahama has announced a decisive move to strip the Executive of its sole power to sell state assets, declaring a new law will require all such transactions to secure explicit parliamentary approval.

The proposed Divestiture of Public Property Bill is intended to halt what the President described as the “rampant sale” and alleged looting of national assets. Under the legislation, any sale, transfer, or privatisation of state-owned lands, factories, and other properties would need the green light from Parliament.

President Mahama unveiled the plan during an engagement with the Ghanaian Diaspora Community in Luska last Wednesday, as part of a three-day state visit to Zambia.

“This will stop the rampant sale of government assets,” President Mahama stated. He argued the change would ensure the people, through their elected representatives, have the final say over the disposal of the nation’s wealth.

He cited the previous administration’s attempted 15-year lease of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to a private entity as a prime example of a decision that would undergo parliamentary scrutiny under the new regime.

“One government can come and just mortgage public property without the say of the people’s representatives,” he said. “If [parliamentarians] think that it is fair, they will approve it. If they think it’s not fair, they don’t approve of it, then it can’t happen.”

Land Reform and Recovery
Beyond the legislative push, the President detailed a parallel strategy to reform land administration and recover undervalued public lands. A key initiative is the introduction of Blockchain Technology to digitise records at the Land Registry, aimed at eliminating fraudulent double sales.

Regarding public lands already disposed of, the President outlined a two-track policy. For lands where title has been fully processed and developments are occupied, the government will demand payment of the “true value” of the land—revealing that prime plots acquired for as little as GH¢150,000 had been resold for up to $2 million.

However, for transactions still in process, the government has halted them and is reclaiming the lands. “But when we take those lands back, it means that we must find a proper way of making sure that another group won’t come and start selling them again,” he added.

This announcement builds on the President’s directive from January 2025, which temporarily halted all sales and leases of state lands. That ban was lifted in September 2025 with a pledge of strict new oversight processes.

President Mahama’s visit to Zambia followed an invitation from his counterpart, President Hakainde Hichilema. The Ghanaian delegation included First Lady Lordina Mahama, several ministers, and senior presidential staffers.