A seven-member delegation from the Kingdom of Eswatini arrived in Ghana this week to study the country’s land administration reforms, selecting Ghana as a benchmark as the southern African nation works to develop its own National Land Policy.
The team is led by Nonhlanhla Dlamini, Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Tinkhundla Administration and Development (MTAD), and is engaging state institutions and sector actors to examine how Ghana coordinates land governance across both statutory and customary frameworks.
Lands and Natural Resources Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah received the delegation and outlined reforms underway in Ghana, including the decentralisation of land services, the ongoing digitalisation of land records, new district land offices being rolled out nationwide, and measures aimed at reducing persistent land disputes. He said Ghana’s hybrid system, which formally integrates traditional authorities alongside state institutions, holds transferable lessons for countries at earlier stages of policy development.
“Our focus is to ensure that land services are transparent, accessible and efficient while protecting public lands and the rights of citizens,” Buah said.
Dlamini said the choice of Ghana as a study destination was deliberate. “We thought of our big sister, Ghana. That is why we are here to seek assistance while also learning through the exchange of ideas,” she said, adding that the delegation was particularly interested in how Ghana coordinates the activities of government institutions and traditional authorities in land management.
The team is also examining Ghana’s spatial planning processes and stakeholder consultation mechanisms, areas seen as critical to building durable land governance systems that reduce conflict and improve tenure security.
Ghana has been undertaking a comprehensive review of its own National Land Policy, originally adopted in 1999, with the Lands Commission advancing digitisation of land records funded largely through internally generated funds. In 2025 alone, 35 new district lands offices were established, with an additional 100 to 110 offices expected to open across metropolitan and municipal areas this year.
The Eswatini delegation is expected to continue engagements with relevant land sector agencies before concluding its study programme.
