Customary and statutory land tenure, and land policy in ghana. The evolution of ghana law since independence william burnett haivey introduction on march 6, 1957, the british gold coast achieved independence in circumstances that apparently offered a bright future for sovereign, independent ghana. Studies at the university of ghana, the land studies unit at eduardo mondlane. Exploitative administrative practices have been a longstanding source of tenure insecurity in some countries. The indigenous land tenure and nationalization of land in nigeria. Literary culture in colonial ghana indiana university press. Several case studies were conducted in ghana that empirically analyzed the impact of increased tenure. Customary and statutory land tenure, and land policy in ghana in searchworks catalog. About 80 percent of land in ghana is under customary tenure pande and udry 2005. An analysis of igbo traditional land tenure system in. Two books on ghanaian customary land law were at the weekend launched to aid in research and guide legal practitioners and the public on documented landmark. The system of land administration in the country is currently undergoing restructuring under the land administration project lap, initiated in 2003. However, there are a number of challenges which need to be managed in the process. The content of such security is explained by interactions between all elements of a land tenure system as a whole.
Check out the new look and enjoy easier access to your favorite features. Land plays many roles in nigeria owning to the complexity of the society. Pdf beyond panaceas in land tenure systems in ghana. Insights from resilience and adaptive governance of socialecological systems chapter may 2014 with 202. It can be confidently said that a successful implementation of the cls concept and scaling it up to cover the entire country would significantly transform the landscape of land administration in ghana. Two books on ghanaian customary land law were at the weekend launched to aid in research and guide legal practitioners and the public on documented landmark cases adjudicated in the courts. Land tenure can be defined as the manner in which a party holds or occupies an area of land. Ghana school of law students facilities and societies 67 3. An important difference between open access and communal systems is that under a communal system nonmembers of the community are excluded from using. Introduction in africa, a large portion of arable land is in tenure by smallscale. Effort was made to explain the slim line of differences that existed between the land tenure system in ikorodu land as against those that exist in other part of nigeria and africa as a whole.
Reviewing the fate of customary tenure in africa rights and. The rules governing land tenure are invented by societies to regulate land ownership behaviours. Ghana of the stool, skin or family concerned, and are accountable as fiduciaries in this regard. Land in most of africa is controlled under the customary tenure system which is governed by well intentioned social and cultural rules meant to grant equal access to families within groups with common interest in land. History, politics, and land ownership in northern ghana. Stanford libraries official online search tool for books, media, journals, databases, government documents and more. Land tenure and related institutions gender and land rights. Ghana succumbed to attacks by its neighbors in the 11th century, but its name and reputation endured. The indigenous land tenure and nationalization of land in. It is pertinent to note that one of the major declarations of the 1962 land tenure law, like its predecessor, was that all lands in north. Thank you very much for taking time to introduce us to your work, the current issues on land tenure and the right to food in ghana, and what you think demeter can contribute to research and policy design at large in ghana. The 2030 agenda for sustainable development contains land related targets and indicators under sdgs 1, 2, 5, 11 and 15.
Historical inequities should not be ignored, either. Generally, the land tenure system in africa and ghana in particular is such that, land use and its control in the precolonial era and postcolonial era was mostly in the hands of men. This book is about dealing with the dynamics of customary tenure and with. Since 195i, adroit leaders of a wellorganized political party had operated a responsible. Dec 27, 2018 land tenure is another phrase for land ownership, frequently used outside of the united states. The 1992 constitution divides powers among a president, parliament, cabinet, council of state, and an independent judiciary. The main forms of land tenure systems are explained and the positive and negative impacts of each of these forms on the environment analysed. The refined concept of security is defined as an emergent property of a land tenure system. My first book of mammals junior readers series, 28, 28 a. Land and the sustainable development goals sdgs land. It was prepared jointly by the usaide3 land tenure and resource management office, the world cocoa foundation, and cocobod. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Bentsienchill, kwamena, do african systems of land tenure require a special terminology. Gulf of guinea cote divoire, ghana, togo, benin, southern nigeria, cameroon.
The land tenure and agrarian system in the new cocoa. However, this form of tenure was different from the kind of customary land tenure in ghana, south africa and uganda because kings controlled the egyptian state, beginning with the ottoman empire. Customary land tenure is as much a social system as a legal code and from the. The institutional arrangements for land tenure in ghana can be. Its evolution and interaction with english law harrison a. Public policy and the emergent african land tenure system.
It draws on historical and contemporary sociolegal and. 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. The politics of land and urban space in colonial accra jstor. It argues that improving the current land tenure policy demands integration of customary land law and customary authorities into the statutory system. 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 focus of the land reform strategy is to have procedural safeguards and regulations that ensure the land administration system reflects the will of the. In ekiti state as in many states in nigeria, land determines the extent of wealth a man has, it is a sacred thing and is worshipped by many as a goddess. Amankwaii introductory note when young thrasymachus challenges plato and offers his definition of justice as that which is in the interest of the stronger person, perhaps he speaks as a pragmatist who has no patience for such utopian views as. Since the price spikes of 2008 and the renewed interest in smallholder agriculture as an engine for poverty reduction, land tenure has again become an issue of focus for the development community, especially in the rural areas of latin america, subsaharan africa, and south asia. In ghana, land is vested in families and chiefs in the traditional land sector. In ghana, statutory laws governing water tenure have replaced andor augmented customary rules.
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 management by establishing an efficient system of land administration, both state and customary based on clear, coherent polices and laws supported by. Tenure rules help define how property rights to land are allocated within societies. Generally, land administration in ghana is governed by. 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. Land laws and policies ghana integrity initiative local chapter of transparency international. Customary land administrator in ghana challenges and. Land tenure or land ownership is derived mainly from customary.
Before 1952, a chieftain land tenure system prevailed in egypt. The scope of this paper is, however, limited to a consideration of the changes which have occurred in the traditional land tenure systems in response to the demand for land by migrant cocoa farmers in the new cocoa frontier of the western region of ghana and of the effects of these changes on the agrarian system. Ladies and gentleman, the issues and challenges of land tenure and reform in africa are very complex and more than often bewildering minefield. 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. Information taken from case file dockets, process books, and register of land cases. Ghana amanor and diderutuah 2001, ivory coast colin and ayouz 2006. Apr 30, 2009 ladies and gentleman, the issues and challenges of land tenure and reform in africa are very complex and more than often bewildering minefield. In january 1993, military government gave way to the fourth republic after presidential and parliamentary elections in late 1992. The government of ghana was created as a parliamentary democracy, followed by alternating military and civilian governments.
Challenges in land tenure and land reform in africa harvard. The politics of land and urban space in colonial accra history in. Customary land administrator in ghana challenges and prospects shaping the change xxiii fig congress munich, germany, october 8, 2006 211 customary land administrator in ghana challenges and prospects matilda esi fiadzigbey, ghana 1. Implications of incorporating customary land tenure data into. The ndc government realised as far back as 1994 that the time for debate is over, and the time for action has come. Historical development of dualistic land tenure systems. Individuals in this region primarily obtain land for.
The land tenure system in ghana depicts the law of the jungle only the fittest of the fit can survive. There are many different types of land tenure, including private and public ownership, and each type of land tenure comes with a bundle of. These corporate bodies, referred to as customary landholding institutions control over 90% of the total land area in. Examining the relationship with landuse planning delivery. The government of ghanas 1996 water resources commission act vests ownership of all water in the state, which is also responsible for its control and management. Land tenure is another phrase for land ownership, frequently used outside of the united states.
A fascinating literary, social, and cultural history of colonial ghana, literary culture in colonial ghana sheds new light on understandings of the african colonial experience and the development of postcolonial cultures in west africa. Rakai fiji land information system support centre department of lands and surveys box 2222, govt buildings, suva, fiji. Land tenure in ekiti state before the colonial era. The land tenure system is often described as communal. Ghana has a unique position in the political history of subsaharan africa, being the first country.
After independence in 1960, the government of northern nigeria enacted a new law titled land tenure law 1962. Land tenure, property rights, and rural economic development. Acta universitatis agriculturae et silviculturae mendelianae brunensis, 646. Customary and historical legitimacy is often a matter of historical interpretation. Historical experience in many subsaharan african countries demonstrates that an. The different types of land tenure and the land administration prevailing in ghana today. Land tenure and related institutions gender and land. Insights from resilience and adaptive governance of socialecological systems chapter may 2014 with 202 reads how we measure reads. 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.
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. It is considered one of the best systems in west africa, but it is still far away from equal standards across. Customary land tenure data into a land information system trans tasman surveyor, vol. This paper examines the land tenure system in ghana and its impact on the environment. The experience of a nonconformist obed yao asamoah. Some development experts argue that strengthening the property rights of the rural poor leads to increased. The lands commission, established under the 1971 lands commission act, as provided for by the constitution, is the authority mandated to regulate the size and duration of land transfers as well as to judge their fairness. Methods for implementing land administration systems at the local level have been presented in a threephased tenure model. Here is some general information about you new host country the flag the coat of arms the national anthem maps data on ghana introduction geography climate people education history ghanas presidents government and political conditions economy foreign relations links the flag of ghana. Two of these operated nationwide while the others followed the usual north. The land tenure system in egypt has undergone 3 phases of change.
Customary land tenure system in ikorodu land predates to the time of the creation of ikorodu. Its components are the system of land ownership and system of labour organization. The plethora of legal systems caused confusion between ga and non. Ghana as a country has a peculiar land tenure system. Implications of incorporating customary land tenure data. Decades of revisionist analysis of african history have shown that customary or.
It is pertinent to note that one of the major declarations of the 1962 land tenure law, like its predecessor, was that all lands in north ern nigeria were under the control and subject to the disposition of the governor and were to be held and administered for the use. She specializes in west african history and the history of. Introduction land tenure system in nigeria from earliest time is one of the oldest systems in nigeria that have remained relevant until the coming of the europeans in the late 19th century. The act also gives the state the power to grant water rights. There are many different types of land tenure, including private and public ownership, and each type of land tenure comes with a bundle of rights for the use and disposition of the property. Customary land tenure system in ghana and its problems yen. Dec 01, 2008 this work covers extensively the customary land tenure system in ikorodu between 19602000.
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