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. Ghana has a unique position in the political history of subsaharan africa, being the first country. In the south, reserved lands, known as stool lands, were held by the chief for the wider community. Land tenure is the system of legal rights and obligations governing the holding, acquisition, use, and disposal of land. 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 a attitude, of noninterference by the ruling authority. Pdf on nov 14, 2015, aphu elvis selase and others published land tenure system in the precolonial era. In subsaharan africa, the dominant land tenure system is the customary land tenure. Its components are the system of land ownership and system of labour organization. Despite the established causal linkages between customary land tenure systems. Ghana, officially republic of ghana, republic 2015 est. Republic of ghana in africa, ghana ranks 24th by size out of 54 countries, 14th by population and th by population density. 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. It is also referred to as a system of land relation in which the ownership of the. The institutional arrangements for land tenure in ghana can be.
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. Private ownership of land can be acquired by way of a grant, sale, gift or marriage. Land tenure and related institutions gender and land. 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. The land act 1998 identifies the four forms of land tenure systems in uganda which include customary, leasehold, freehold and mailo, grants. 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 tenure and related institutions gender and land rights. Land tenure system in ghana has been marred by some uncouth traditional institutions such as. Land tenure may be defined as the terms and conditions on which land is held, used and transacted. List of books and articles about ghana history online. Land tenure policy and economic development in ghana.
Download pdf customary land tenure free online new. These lands are known as customary lands and, according to appiah2011, these lands make up about 80 percent of all lands in ghana. Tf053449canadian international development agency cida cofinancing for ghana. Customary land tenure is as much a social system as a legal code and. History and evolution of land tenure and administration in west africa. 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. Land tenure in much of africa is usually portrayed as either customarytraditional, or statestatutory. They mainly exercise the overall authority over land ownership and related issues. 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. It is estimated that 80 percent of the land is governed by traditional rulers 22. South africas land tenure reform programme in the former. Customary land tenure is characterised by its largely unwritten nature, is based on local practices and norms, and is flexible, negotiable and location specific.
Ghana landlinks landlinks was created by e3land, a. Land tenure systems and agricultural production in malawi. Doing away with the customary land tenure system would be a dent to the cultural, historical and political foundations of the ghanaian people. In terms of the 1936 act, occupation of land was based on a permission to occupy pto system. 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. Ghana is characterized by a pluralistic legal system in which customary and statutory systems governing land overlap. These relationships are dynamic and change with cultural. Land tenure can be defined as the manner in which a party holds or occupies an area of land. Data on ghana introduction in addition to the data below, the links at the bottom of this page will provide you with more information.
Culture of ghana history, people, clothing, traditions. Land use regulations and urban planning initiatives in accra. Reviewing the fate of customary tenure in africa rights and. Customary land administrator in ghana challenges and. There are various types of land tenure systems in uganda under under which citizens and foreigners can buy land, own and utilize it. For convenience, land is used here to include other natural resources such as water and trees.
Findings the study has revealed that land tenure insecurity is still widespread in southern africa. Instead of recommending abandonment of communal tenure systems in favor of freehold title and. By contrast, the traditional communal land tenure system in ghana, in which land is. About 80 percent of land in ghana is under customary tenure pande and udry 2005. 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 role of traditional institutions within this conflict arena is becoming more and more protracted. A study of the institution of the customary land tenure. Individuals in this region primarily obtain land for.
Ghana landlinks landlinks was created by e3land, a usaid. The working of the land and the appropriation of its products in this system of land tenure are highly individualistic 1965. Download pdf customary land tenure free online new books. Ghana, 1992 and issue of undue prerogative to chiefs helped see an. Types of land tenure systems in uganda land ownership in. I dedicate this book to my wife doris ampaduameyaw mrs and children jedidiah. In karamoja, land is owned under the customary land tenure system. Ghana land administration project english the world bank. Ghana, underscoring the historical antecedents of land tenure reform and policies. Labour and the family in southern ghana the web site. The land tenure system is often described as communal. Customary land tenure system in ghana and its problems yen.
Currently, the ministry of land and natural resources is implementing lap 2 land administration project, which is the second phase of the longterm project. Pdf land tenure basically refers to the system of formal and informal institutions. 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. 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. History of greed and grievance in land and sustainable. 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. May 11, 2003 ghanas land tenure system impedes the countrys socioeconomic development, and is completely out of place in a modern, progressive country. Ghana succumbed to attacks by its neighbors in the 11th century, but its name and reputation endured.
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. 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. Ghanas land tenure system impedes the countrys socioeconomic development, and is completely out of place in a modern, progressive country. Land tenure reform and customary claims negotiability in rural. There are also public lands, forming the remaining 20 percent, which is made up of state lands and vested.
Land tenure, land use and land acquisition in nigeria. 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. The vast majority 68% of ghanas land is used for agriculture and 15% of it is used as permanent natural pastures. 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. Decades of revisionist analysis of african history have shown that customary or. 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.
Find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. 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. A fundamental goal of tenure reform is to enhance peoples land rights and thus provide tenure security box 2. Book attempt to assess relative efficiency of indigenous customary land tenure arrangements.
Land can either be owned in perpetuity or for a given period of time. Lessons of experience and emerging issues lorenzo cotula, camilla toulmin and ced hesse february 2004 copies of this publication can be obtained from. These lands are known as customary lands and, according to appiah 2011, these lands make up about 80 percent of all lands in ghana. Customary land administrator in ghana challenges and prospects shaping the change xxiii fig congress munich, germany, october 8, 2006 411 concerned. The empire appears to have broken up following the 1076 conquest by the almoravid general abubakr ibnumar. This study therefore examined land acquisition and use in nigeria within the context of food and livelihood security. The rules governing land tenure are invented by societies to regulate land ownership behaviours. Types of land tenure systems in uganda land ownership in uganda. Vast areas of savannah and semidesert land are in tenure by pastoralists and indigenous communities. Ghana land insecurity has not contributed to agricultural inefficiency. The current roots of this classification can be traced to the 19 and 1936 natives land acts. 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. This blog has outlined the different types of land ownership in ghana.
Land tenure, traditional institutions and sustainable. 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. Examining the relationship with landuse planning delivery article pdf available in international development. Public policy and the emergent african land tenure system. It draws on historical and contemporary sociolegal and. 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. Land and people modern ghana comprises the former british colony of the gold coast and the former mandated territory of british togoland. Interethnic conflicts and their impact on national. In africa, a large portion of arable land is in tenure by smallscale farmers often women. Land acquisition and use remain a critical issue of great policy relevance in developing countries such as nigeria. 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. Ghana as a country has a peculiar land tenure system. 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.
Tenure system of land involves a system of rights, duties and. Its principles stem from rights established through first clearance of land, or con. Each land deal whether transparent or opaque deprives customary land users of two of their most relevant resources. The land tenure system in ghana depicts the law of the jungle only the fittest of the fit can survive. Land tenure reform refers to a planned change in the terms and conditions e. It argues that improving the current land tenure policy demands integration of customary land law and customary authorities into the statutory system. Nowhere is this cleavage between textbook law and social reality more glaring than. History department is truly a center of excellence and its faculty members are the model of. In this article i discuss policy issues on land within the ghanaian landscape. The republic of ghana is named after the medieval west african ghana empire. Land use regulations and urban planning initiatives in. A reduced kingdom continued to exist after almoravid rule ended, and the.
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. Usaid country profile landlinks was created by e3land, a. Public lands are lands that are vested in the president for public use 24. The chapter used secondary data obtained from the world bank website, national bureau of statistics nbs and other sources. 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. Explaining the different types of land tenure daily monitor. Land tenure before 1990 land in the rural areas of the former bantustans is categorised as unsurveyed, unregistered state land, and trust land. Since 1980 the northern region of ghana has witnessed intermittent. 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. 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. Pdf beyond panaceas in land tenure systems in ghana. Tf noname bbfaofood and agriculture organization fund. 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.
204 740 976 1538 61 1177 297 315 251 793 350 809 1323 396 589 42 869 307 303 229 1519 335 1234 1195 1034 178 691 578 33 1193 876 1338 400 1179 1056 118 666 687 783 765 872 246 1207 853 691