Land Management Committee, Land Acquisition, and Interest in Land: A Perspective of Customary Land Secretariats in Ghana.

Abstract

Context and background The role of Customary Land Secretariats (CLSs) in Ghana’s land administration system cannot be misjudged. However, their ongoing practices have not received much attention from scholarships, land pundits, and policymakers. Goal and Objectives: Expressing concerns about the increasing collapse of CLSs, this study framed and conceptualised the nexus of CLSs with their functions and stakeholders in customary land administration (CLA) by examining (a) the composition of the land management committee (LMC), (b) land acquisitions, (c) alternative dispute resolution—ADR, and (d) interests in land from the perspective of CLA. Methodology: The paper employed descriptive and prescriptive analysis techniques with the help of existing data from the Berekum and the Duayaw Nkwanta CLSs in Ghana. Results: The analysed data shows the exclusion of women from the LMC. Again, we documented that the composition of the LMC is not well-defined, and significant improvement in land acquisitions and ADR recorded cases were also observed but no customary interest was documented. The study offers the need to clearly define and standardise the composition of the LMC as the primary policymakers in CLA. Reforms in the current customary practices and the Chieftaincy legal framework are also necessary to include women in the traditional for an inclusive local land governance.

Keywords

• Customary Land Secretariates, Land Management Committee, Women, Land Acquisition, Interest in Land, Ghana