by Lina Paulitsch
On October 10th 2012 the ministry of lands and
natural resources organized an orientation workshop for the Central Regional
House of Chiefs and Queen Mothers in Cape Coast, which was honored by Ghana’s
Vice President, Mr. Amissah-Arthur.
When it comes to the administration of land and property the
government of Ghana faces many difficulties. They are mainly rooted in the
complex indigenous system of the Akan that still rules most Ghanaian regions.
Selling, allocating and managing land is done by local authorities and,
therefore, difficult to control. Building roads, managing agriculture and planning
land use in terms of environmental awareness is almost impossible to delegate
between different land owners. On the other hand, disrespecting the traditions
of the local people, particularly under the colonial government, has only
increased the problems and strengthened local resistance.
In Ghana, over 80 per cent of land is owned by individual
groups and traditional chiefs, who are officially accepted. The communities
have their own socio-political hierarchy, which is structured in five levels:
Starting at Village level, the heads of household are ruled by their Village
Chief (‘Odikro’). These Chiefs are overpowered by the Territorial Chief
(‘Okene’), who is underneath the Paramount Chief (‘Omanhene’). The last and
most powerful level is the Head of Confideration (‘Asantehene’). Still, each of
the chiefs (‘Nana’) is able to manage land at all five levels.
Equally important is the Queen Mother, who serves not only as
a biological, but also a spiritual mother to the Chief. She observes social
conditions, presides over all births and menstruation rites and helps selection
of a new Chief. However, in spite of her importance, land can only be inherited
by male descendants.
Within this complex system conflicts and litigations are
likely to arise. As for the lack of official documents, people from different -
or even the same - families and villages dispute over physical boundaries of
land, fraudulent transactions or double allocation of property. The importance
of land varies from one community to another: some think it most important to farm;
others construct new buildings, whereas others might be ‘close’ to nature and
want to save it. If land use is completely uncontrolled, it easily results in slums
or, as opposed to that, in massive exploitation with following soil
conservation and environmental problems.
For a long time in Africa’s history, officials have tried to
centralize land use, while neglecting the citizens. Starting with the colonial
regime, roads were built without permission, communities were torn apart and
land was divided by a straight line drawn on a map, ignorant of the local
people’s allegiance. The Europeans oppressed the African population in
outrageous ways, destroying culture, land and peoples. But even after the Independence of 1957 the
Ghanaian government continued to centralize administrational systems, in spite
of local levels.
It was only during the 1990s that the government decided to
introduce a decentralized system that would both include government and local
authorities in its decisions. Particularly the Central Region’s socio-economic
profile is highly important, as the area has large cocoa, timber and food crops
industries, and is one of Ghana’s
main tourist regions. In 2003 the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources
started the ‘Ghana Land Administration Project (LAP-1)’, which became the first
step of trying to improve economic developments and promote social stability by
strengthening land administration. LAP-1 focused on changing Land laws and creating
several local institutions that would make it easier for local authorities to
communicate with the government.
The second phase of the project, called LAP-2, was presented
on October 10th 2012 in Cape Coast. The Paramount Chiefs of Central
Region, the President of the Central Regional House of Chiefs, the Queen
Mothers and many others were invited to get to know the program and familiarize
them with future administrational solutions.
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| Vice President, Mr. Amissah-Arthur |
The importance of the event was affirmed by the appearance
of the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mike Hammah, and most
importantly, the Vice President of Ghana, Mr. Amissah-Arthur. He was welcomed
by a cheering crowd that did not want to quiet down, animated by the honor of
such an important person. In his speech he assured the Chiefs that the
government would consult them and cooperate, when making decisions concerning
land use. Furthermore, he emphasized the Central Region’s value in both natural
and human resources and promised to improve the standard of education. Undoubtedly,
his visit was part of the NDC’s campaign for December’s elections, as he directly
addressed the Chiefs to support his visions for the region and people’s living
conditions.
The opening address of LAP-2 was held by the Minister of
Lands and Natural Resources, Mr. Hammah. He explained LAP-2 aims to consolidate
the achievements of LAP-1, while improving communication, transparency and
cutting down costs. “The efficiency with which we collectively manage the land
determines the pace of our socio-economical development”, he said, referring to
the Central Region’s economic importance.
He also mentioned another very important part of the
program: LAP’s Gender Strategy. In modern Ghana, women account for 70 per
cent of production of subsistence crops and for 90 per cent of laborers in
farming. In spite of this fact, women are hardly ever involved in making
decisions on land administration. Firstly, Ghanaian women are still poorer and
less educated than men, making it harder for them to insist upon their rights
and take actions in administrational decisions. Secondly, women suffer under
the inheritance system. Generally, people can only acquire land through inheritance;
as the patrilineal line in Ghana
is of greater importance, women are entirely left out. Fighting this great
injustice, the Land Administration Project Unit has launched several
initiatives. Their main focus is to raise awareness among the government’s
staff and the Traditional authorities, in order to secure women’s rights. For a
future decentralized land use system women play a crucial role and shall
therefore be seen as an equal part.
LAP-2’s expected results promise a clear and coherent set of
Land Administration policies and laws, a decentralized system, which is
compatible with both cultural norms and Government policy and efficient
administration in terms of land records management and transparent
transactions. The promotion of LAP-2 was therefore a very important step in
building trust between Traditional and official authorities: A country can
never improve when it does not take local people and traditions into account. Mr.
Hammah, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources said: “We shall count on your [the Chiefs’]
cooperation in our common determination to ensure a decent, transparent, sound
and efficient land tenure system devoid of acrimony and disputes for the good
of our country, Ghana.”
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