Customary land administrator in ghana challenges and prospects shaping the change xxiii fig congress munich, germany, october 8, 2006 411 concerned. In terms of the 1936 act, occupation of land was based on a permission to occupy pto system. In this article i discuss policy issues on land within the ghanaian landscape. Download pdf customary land tenure free online new books. The paper further contends that the present land ownership system in nigeria as enshrined in the land use act of 1978 has socialist inclinations with excessive state control of land ownership, use. For cxamplc, famoriyo 1976 wrote that as far as the customary tenure system in nigeria was concerned, the attitude of colonial rulers in nigeria was paternalistic, iaissezfaire. Tf noname bbfaofood and agriculture organization fund. Land tenure reform and customary claims negotiability in rural. History of greed and grievance in land and sustainable. Labour and the family in southern ghana the web site. It is estimated that 80 percent of the land is governed by traditional rulers 22. Land tenure and economic development in rural south africa.
Tenure issues relation to land has always been a major area of conflict in northern ghana. The land tenure system ideally refers to how access is given in relation to land to either hold, own, rent or lease out to another party. Findings the study has revealed that land tenure insecurity is still widespread in southern africa. Find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. History department is truly a center of excellence and its faculty members are the model of. Land use regulations and urban planning initiatives in. The rules governing land tenure are invented by societies to regulate land ownership behaviours. Types of land tenure systems in uganda land ownership in. The paper further contends that the present land ownership system in nigeria as enshrined in the land use act of 1978 has socialist inclinations with. Understanding these as well as our post on how to avoid land litigation will help to prevent any struggles when you decide to acquire land types of land ownership. List of books and articles about ghana history online. Public lands are lands that are vested in the president for public use 24. There are also public lands, forming the remaining 20 percent, which is made up of state lands and vested.
The empire appears to have broken up following the 1076 conquest by the almoravid general abubakr ibnumar. Notwithstanding the african union aus 2009 framework and guidance on land policy in africa that advocates a leading role for customary tenure in land governance, an almost irreversible process that can possibly be best described as neoliberalisation of customary tenure has been quietly working its way across much of subsaharan africa. The republic of ghana is named after the medieval west african ghana empire. Land can either be owned in perpetuity or for a given period of time. Ghana as a country has a peculiar land tenure system. Types of land tenure systems in uganda land ownership in uganda. The modern codification of civil law developed out of the customs, or coutumes of the middle ages, expressions of law that developed in particular. Its principles stem from rights established through first clearance of land, or con. Land tenure system in nigeria has been described as those systems which represent the relationship of man in society to land even though actual patterns may differ from community to community but there are certain uniformities of type in relations involved which make it possible to apply a common scheme of analysis 1 6. Land tenure policy and economic development in ghana joseph blocher this note addresses the intersection of customary and statutory land law in the land tenure policy of ghana. Ghana, officially republic of ghana, republic 2015 est.
Public policy and the emergent african land tenure system. Despite the established causal linkages between customary land tenure systems. Doing away with the customary land tenure system would be a dent to the cultural, historical and political foundations of the ghanaian people. Individuals in this region primarily obtain land for. Download pdf customary land tenure free online new. Examining the relationship with landuse planning delivery article pdf available in international development. For news about ghana, see accraexpats how to guide page how to keep posted with ghana news official name.
The role of customary land secretariats in promoting good. Pdf on nov 14, 2015, aphu elvis selase and others published land tenure system in the precolonial era. Ghana landlinks landlinks was created by e3land, a usaid. Land tenure, land use and land acquisition in nigeria.
Land acquisitions are broadly defined to include not only the purchase of ownership rights but also the acquisition of user rights, for instance through leases or concessions, whether short or long term. Land tenure may be defined as the terms and conditions on which land is held, used and transacted. Culture of ghana history, people, clothing, traditions. Meeting on land tenure systems and sustainable development in southern africa held 1 3 october 2003, in lusaka, zambia, and their comments have been incorporated into this report. Apr 30, 2009 the land administration project lap1 is the first phase of a commitment by the government of ghana to use the land administration programme to reduce poverty and enhance economicsocial growth by improving security of tenure, simplifying the process of acquiring land by the populace, developing the land market and fostering prudent land. Tenure system of land involves a system of rights, duties and. Land and people modern ghana comprises the former british colony of the gold coast and the former mandated territory of british togoland. South africas land tenure reform programme in the former. Introduction conditions under which a tenure system leads to increases in wealth as omotunde evan george johnson has shown, a land tenure system facilitates increases in wealth when a property rights are properly defined with legal and tenure certainty, and b there is. Vast areas of savannah and semidesert land are in tenure by pastoralists and indigenous communities. Customary land administrator in ghana challenges and.
It draws on historical and contemporary sociolegal and. How could the same land tenure system accommodate the largescale transition from food crops into cocoa at the opening of the 20th century and so dramatically inhibit investment in land productivity in the same area at the. John mugambwa introduction in 1953 the british colonial government established a royal commission to investigate and recommend ways for the promotion of economic development in britains east african colonies. Ghana land administration project english the world bank. As fisher 1993 noted, the major characteristics of customary tenure is that the land is regarded as belonging to the whole social group and not to an individual. Interethnic conflicts and their impact on national. Four years ago, naboth amanya paid shs15m for seven acres of land in mpambire village, along masaka.
Decades of revisionist analysis of african history have shown that customary or. Feudal land tenure is a system of mutual obligations under which a royal or noble personage granted a fiefdom some degree of interest in the use or revenues of a given parcel of land in exchange for a claim on services such as military service or simply maintenance of the land in which the lord continued to have an interest. Land acquisition and use remain a critical issue of great policy relevance in developing countries such as nigeria. Land tenure is a collection of relationships which exist between members of a society by virtue of their occupation and use of land ezigbalike and benwell, 1995.
Usaid country profile landlinks was created by e3land, a. In ghana, local land governance structures that determine and control land use decisionmaking are chiefs in the centralised traditional political authority of southern ghana and parts of northern region of ghana, families, clans and tendamba 1 in the case of upper west see fig. Currently, the ministry of land and natural resources is implementing lap 2 land administration project, which is the second phase of the longterm project. Ghanas land tenure system impedes the countrys socioeconomic development, and is completely out of place in a modern, progressive country. The institutional arrangements for land tenure in ghana can be. This blog has outlined the different types of land ownership in ghana.
The land tenure system in ghana depicts the law of the jungle only the fittest of the fit can survive. It is also referred to as a system of land relation in which the ownership of the. The land tenure system is often described as communal. Land tenure can be defined as the manner in which a party holds or occupies an area of land. Land tenure system can be defined as the rights and institution that governs access to and use of land. Customary land tenure system in ghana and its problems yen. Nowhere is this cleavage between textbook law and social reality more glaring than. Land tenure in much of africa is usually portrayed as either customarytraditional, or statestatutory. Land tenure policy and economic development in ghana. Lessons of experience and emerging issues lorenzo cotula, camilla toulmin and ced hesse february 2004 copies of this publication can be obtained from.
Ghana has a unique position in the political history of subsaharan africa, being the first country. The land administration project lap1 is the first phase of a commitment by the government of ghana to use the land administration programme to reduce poverty and enhance economicsocial growth by improving security of tenure, simplifying the process of acquiring land by the populace, developing the land market and fostering prudent land. Ghana landlinks landlinks was created by e3land, a. Land tenure, traditional institutions and sustainable.
Land tenure reform refers to a planned change in the terms and conditions e. Pdf land tenure basically refers to the system of formal and informal institutions. Reviewing the fate of customary tenure in africa rights and. Ghana succumbed to attacks by its neighbors in the 11th century, but its name and reputation endured. A reduced kingdom continued to exist after almoravid rule ended, and the. Each land deal whether transparent or opaque deprives customary land users of two of their most relevant resources. It also championed the struggle for independence and the political and economic emancipation of the rest of the countries on the continent in the 1960s. Land tenure and related institutions gender and land rights. Republic of ghana in africa, ghana ranks 24th by size out of 54 countries, 14th by population and th by population density. The issue of land tenure, allocation, distribution and management since the colonial times has been a bone of contention often leading to conflict as people scramble for the fertile, mineral deposited lands in the republic of ghana. About 80 percent of land in ghana is under customary tenure pande and udry 2005. Economic case for land tenure reform land tenure reform refers to a planned change in the terms and conditions on which land is held, used and transacted.
Private ownership of land can be acquired by way of a grant, sale, gift or marriage. Ghana is characterized by a pluralistic legal system in which customary and statutory systems governing land overlap. The current roots of this classification can be traced to the 19 and 1936 natives land acts. The vast majority 68% of ghanas land is used for agriculture and 15% of it is used as permanent natural pastures. Land tenure before 1990 land in the rural areas of the former bantustans is categorised as unsurveyed, unregistered state land, and trust land. These lands are known as customary lands and, according to appiah 2011, these lands make up about 80 percent of all lands in ghana. May 11, 2003 ghanas land tenure system impedes the countrys socioeconomic development, and is completely out of place in a modern, progressive country. It is an important factor affecting the present utilization of land in the world and it also serves as a legal instrument through which land reforms can be started or assisted. Any monies accruing out of any deed executed in respect of any such vested land were paid into the appropriate stool account for the purposes of the act. In africa, a large portion of arable land is in tenure by smallscale farmers often women. This study therefore examined land acquisition and use in nigeria within the context of food and livelihood security.
These lands are known as customary lands and, according to appiah2011, these lands make up about 80 percent of all lands in ghana. Data on ghana introduction in addition to the data below, the links at the bottom of this page will provide you with more information. By contrast, the traditional communal land tenure system in ghana, in which land is. This system fostered communal land tenure systems, in which a large group, usually the lineage, held the land in trust for its members and allocated usufruct rights on demand. From policy issues, i move into discussion on ownership and access to land.
The great majority of land in ghana is held informally, under customary tenure systems. For convenience, land is used here to include other natural resources such as water and trees. History and evolution of land tenure and administration in west africa. Land tenure is the system of legal rights and obligations governing the holding, acquisition, use, and disposal of land. Pdf beyond panaceas in land tenure systems in ghana. Tf053449canadian international development agency cida cofinancing for ghana. Explaining the different types of land tenure daily monitor. Book attempt to assess relative efficiency of indigenous customary land tenure arrangements. In subsaharan africa, the dominant land tenure system is the customary land tenure. Ghana land insecurity has not contributed to agricultural inefficiency. The role of traditional institutions within this conflict arena is becoming more and more protracted.
These relationships are dynamic and change with cultural. I dedicate this book to my wife doris ampaduameyaw mrs and children jedidiah. They mainly exercise the overall authority over land ownership and related issues. Customary land tenure is as much a social system as a legal code and. In 1957, when the leaders of the former british colony of the gold coast sought an appropriate name for their newly independent statethe first black african nation to gain its independence from colonial rulethey named their new country after ancient ghana. The debate on formalization of property rights through registration of land, private versus customary tenure systems, and which system would best address the needs of vulnerable groups is also ongoing in ghana. This may be necessary in order to avoid the suffering and social instability.
Four years ago, naboth amanya paid shs15m for seven acres of. Land tenure systems and agricultural production in malawi. The land act 1998 identifies the four forms of land tenure systems in uganda which include customary, leasehold, freehold and mailo, grants. Land tenure system in ghana has been marred by some uncouth traditional institutions such as. Land tenure center, university of wisconsinmadison. In the south, reserved lands, known as stool lands, were held by the chief for the wider community. The chapter used secondary data obtained from the world bank website, national bureau of statistics nbs and other sources. There are various types of land tenure systems in uganda under under which citizens and foreigners can buy land, own and utilize it. Ghana, 1992 and issue of undue prerogative to chiefs helped see an. The working of the land and the appropriation of its products in this system of land tenure are highly individualistic 1965.
Customary land tenure is characterised by its largely unwritten nature, is based on local practices and norms, and is flexible, negotiable and location specific. Instead of recommending abandonment of communal tenure systems in favor of freehold title and. Its components are the system of land ownership and system of labour organization. A fundamental goal of tenure reform is to enhance peoples land rights and thus provide tenure security box 2. Land in ghana is held from various stoolskin lands, families or clans, which are the allodial owners. Land tenure and related institutions gender and land. Article information, pdf download for understanding land reform in ghana open. The wlca project with funding support from friends of transparency international ti is a project being implemented by ti chapters in zimbabwe, ghana and uganda and coordinated by ti secretariat tis in berlin. A study of the institution of the customary land tenure. It argues that improving the current land tenure policy demands integration of customary land law and customary authorities into the statutory system.