Assessing customary land administration systems for peri-urban land in Ghana
Doctoral Thesis
2013
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University of Cape Town
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Abstract
Customary tenure is the predominant land tenure system in Ghana. It has been practiced for many years. Customary land tenure is built on the foundations of an African concept of land, distinguished by centrality of community, spirituality, and mutual dependence of the individual and the community. Colonization, increased population, rapid urbanisation has placed enormous pressure on customary tenure, especially in peri-urban areas. This study investigates customary administration in peri-urban Ghana. Using critical realism and multimethodology, peri-urban customary tenure in Accra and Kumasi, the fastest growing cities in Ghana, are assessed. A model for assessing functionality for peri-urban customary systems has been developed. The results indicate that functional customary systems adhere to the principles of good governance in customary land administration, although a lot needs to be done to improve accountability, transparency and land rights of women. It was also observed that whether the system has patrilineal or matrilineal inheritance does not have any significant influence on functionality. Further research is recommended to investigate best practices from other tenure systems to improve peri-urban customary tenure without compromising good aspects of customary systems.
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Reference:
Akrofi, E. 2013. Assessing customary land administration systems for peri-urban land in Ghana. University of Cape Town.