Such a letters main purpose is to inform others what the property that is being transferred is, who are the parties involved, at what costreason it is being transferred, etc. Bj da rocha and chk lodoh ghana land law and conveyancing, 2nd edition, 1999. There are some lesser land interest types created under contractual, sharecropping or other customary tenancy arrangements. This blog has outlined the different types of land ownership in ghana. An overview of the system of land ownership and access in the rural areas for both residential and agricultural purposes has been used as a background for the understanding of the changes provoked by. While some researchers have insisted that there is no problem of gender inequalities in land tenure systems, others have also insisted the vice. To put the phenomenon of land guards into proper perspective, it is imperative to provide an overview of issues surrounding land ownership and acquisition in ghana. These lands are known as customary lands and, according.
These lands are known as customary lands and, according to appiah 2011, these lands make up about 80 percent of all lands in ghana. Section 3 focuses on the gender aspect of land tenure problems. The law allows the owner to value the land and give the government a price. The existing land tenurial arrangement for cocoa farming does not discriminate against social groups including youth, women, natives and migrants. Public state lands these are lands which belong to all the citizens of a country but are however controlled by the government for the interest of the general public. The government pays the owner of the land adequate compensation before it acquires that land. In ghana, the maximum ownership duration for expats is 50 years while for locals, it is 99 years. Tangled land administration in ghana land issues are administered in a plural environment, with customary laws and norms operating alongside state law. Applicantdeveloper negotiates with the actual owner concerned for the land. Lessons from ghana about the authors mark kakrabaampeh is the executive director at the land resources management centre lrmc, based in kumasi, ghana. Government of ghana also has its valuers headed by the land evaluation division of the lands commission. Based on these findings, the team recommends a phased intervention that 1 provides a comprehensive. The study revealed that mens and womens access to and control over land in the volta region were affected by factors such as. Interests in land in the customary law of ghana yale law school.
Pdf in ghana, in common with much of subsaharan africa, land is mainly owned communally along ethnotribal and family lines, with. According to ollenu 4, in ghana there is no land without an owner. Ghanas land tenure system impedes the countrys socioeconomic development, and is completely out of place in a modern, progressive country. Ghana case study food and agriculture organization of the united. Evidence from the wa municipality article pdf available november 2010 with 578 reads how we measure reads. Applications of cbnrm are as diverse as the reasons for its inception. All lands either belong to the state, stoolcommunity, families or private. This paper explores land ownership and access to land in the urban areas of mamprugu in the northern region of ghana. Customary lands are lands owned by stools, skins, families or clan usually held in trust by the chief, head of family, clan, or fetish priests for the benefit of members of that group. Access to and control over land from a gender perspective a.
Dec 07, 2015 bj da rocha and chk lodoh ghana land law and conveyancing, 2nd edition, 1999. About 80% of the total land area belongs variously to stoolsskins, 8 individuals, families, and clans. To a large extent, private lands in most parts of the country are in. Building on tradition and modernity by kasim kasanga and nii ashie kotey february 2001 copies of this publication can be obtained from. Equity of land, land ownership, land right and the tenure system in ghana has been explained. Standard land purchase and sale agreement with contingencies the parties make this agreement this day of. The various processes involved in acquiring a parcel of land from. Three copies of the document executed between the actual owner and the applicant to be submit ted to lands commission. Land guards, state subordination and human rights in ghana. Land tenure, women land conflicts, ownership, endogenous development subject areas.
Lessons of experience and emerging issues lorenzo cotula, camilla toulmin and ced hesse february 2004 copies of this publication can be obtained from. State lands lands that have been compulsorily acquired using its powers of eminence but under certain laws in the country. Expost analysis of land title registration in ghana since. Law to regulate land acquisition and use in ghana in the. Ltc research paper land tenure center university of wisconsinmadison december 1998. Customary land ownership is dominant in ghana, with chiefs and recognised traditional authorities. There are several different land rights systems in ghana and cote divoire, from customary laws to the law administered by state courts. This agreement supersedes and replaces all obligations made in any prior contract to purchase or agreement for sale entered into by the parties. For example, the right of alienation the transfer of land ownership may not exist or be difficult to apply to lands with communal ownership 2 fao, 2003.
Governance, land rights and access to land in ghana a. Several research works have been conducted to draw attention to gender inequalities in land tenure system. Types of land ownership in ghana individual private lands registration procedures 1. In ghana, recently, acquisition of land has become. Seals of registry offices 1 a registry office shall have a seal. Land in ghana is held from various stoolskin lands, families or clans, which are the allodial owners. An ownership transfer letter is a way of how the ownership of a property is transferred from one person to another. Assessment of land tenurerelated constraints to cocoa productivity in ghana 2 contributing to the increased vulnerability of local land administration processes to local political dynamics. 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. Bruce all views, interpretations, recommendations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the supporting or cooperating institutions. Customary lands form about 78 percent of the total land area in ghana. Land is a valuable asset, which appreciates or inc reases in term of price, as time goes on.
The various processes involved in acquiring a parcel of land from purchase to titledeed registration. In the event the buyer defaults or breaches this agreement, the seller has the right to confiscate all the payments under clause 2, terminate this agreement, and claim damages. Ghana would seem to fall into two broad categories depending on the structure of the political and social organization of. Lamudi ghana guest blogger, kwame ankapong, a land and property investment consultant, shares his expertise on land ownership in ghana. This report is the outcome of a study undertaken on men and womens access to and control over land in seven districts of the volta region in ghana. Applications of communitybased natural resource management projects. The complexities of women land ownership in northern ghana. The paper argues that land ownership structure in nigeria has evolved over the years until 1978 when a single land policy document, otherwise known as the land use act of 1978 was established to.
Ghana is a rapidly urbanizing country, and governments, civil servants, politicians, and other organized groups have all had to grapple with issues of land ownership, tenure, and security due to their significant role in underpinning all physical development. The concept of land ownership on the part of the individual did not exist. This is the perception that is purported of traditional land ownership and management systems and has become stereotypical or the mindset of many. The myriad of land tenure systems in africa complicate the western notion of land ownership and make land ownership statistics difficult to compare across, and even within, countries. General procedures in acquiring land ghana integrity initiative. Land use regulations and urban planning initiatives in. Fulbright scholar at the land tenure center, university of. Apr 23, 2018 20180423 a bill that seeks to regulate the acquisition and use of land in the country will soon be introduced to parliament for consideration and subsequent approval into law, the minister for.
On the other hand, such land investment decisions are often taken in consultation with landowners in cases where farmers do not have direct ownership rights to the land they are working on. He is an experienced land administrator who has contributed significantly to the discourse on land governance in ghana. Mar 24, 2018 the forms of land ownership in ghana are state, vested, stool, family and private or individual. Land use regulations and urban planning initiatives in accra. Three copies of the document executed between the actual owner and the applicant to be submitted to lands commission 3. Introduction the issue of land has always been seen as an all mens affair. Limitation period for mining, timber and farming rights. These are lands that the government of ghana lays its hand on to manage for a group usually because there is a conflict between different parties who are claiming ownership of the land.
In ghana chiefs have used their right to administer communal land to sell large tracts without their communitys permission. There are also public lands, forming the remaining 20 percent, which is made up of state lands and vested. Land ownership in ghana part 1 ghana talks business. Ghana land tenure system history during the precolonial era and up until the late 19th century, land ownership in ghana was practiced differently than in western countries. It is therefore very important that, when you are able to acquire a land, it is registered appropriately and accordingly with the land agencies involved to avoid future land disputes and forfeiture.
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