customary lands.” The hope was to decrease the “multiplicity of land disputes [that have] clogged the court system, and general indiscipline in land use development and disposition” (GLAP, 2009). A Lands Commission Act was enacted in 2008 and consolidates four Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources departments: Survey and Mapping, Land Registration, Land Valuation, Public & Vested Lands Management Divisions.
Traditional Land Ownership in the Accra Area Customary land tenure operates alongside Western land tenure systems in Ghana. Accra was carved out of an area initially inhabited by the Ga of the Ga-Dangme ethnic group (Amenumey, 2008). Family groups founded villages along the eastern coast of what is considered Ghana today (Pellow, 2001). The Ga settled in villages that were, “...concentrated eight miles northwest of modern-day Accra” and were divided into compact quarters that each, “...maintained clan identity and authority.” Seven quarters (villages) made up Old Accra and were later overseen by British and Dutch officials. The seven villages became known as Ga Mashie and were, “...comprised of small kinship groups [that] overtime…absorbed immigrants and became heterogeneous.” Accra became the capital of the Ga Federation in the early 1700s and, “...extended from the plains to the Volta River” (Pellow, 2001). The families, which had initiated the villages that made up Accra, “...reorganized themselves into nuclei [leading families] of [the] towns” (Pellow, 2001). All land in Accra was initially tied to sacred objects known as “stools.” Stools are symbolic of lineages. Among the Ga, stools are in the possession of particular extended families. Within one political unit or clan, there may be a number of stools; even one extended family may possess more than one stool (Pellow, 2001). This traditional system of land ownership clashes with the externally imposed system of private and government land tenure, therefore weakening the extent to which planning can be implemented in Accra and Ghana as a whole. Though traditional chiefs and family heads are expected to, “…seek the consent and concurrence of the Lands Commission” before they sell or de-
26 PANORAMA2010
velop their land, many do not. In addition, many are only, “...willing to pay for unqualified personnel...to prepare substandard planning schemes” if they even decide to seek approval (Akoto-Bamfo, 2008). Planning is even an issue on land that is meant to be distributed and managed by the government. Many of the state-owned areas do not have approved planning schemes and once land is sold, “...individuals do not consult the Assemblies [local government bodies] to prepare a scheme...for proper development” (Akoto-Bamfo, 2008). The different land tenure types have led to tenure insecurity and the mismanagement of land registration. Reluctance to register land properly has led to ownership conflicts, the double selling of land, and large variances in the extent to which
plans are implemented in sub-metros.
The Introduction of Western Tenure Systems Issues with land administration and the current planning system in Ghana can be traced to Accra’s involvement in the international economy. Before the first Europeans arrived on the coast of Ghana, “African capitals were located inland, away from the sea and mostly looked northwards, concerned with...the trans-Saharan trade. The first Europeans to arrive in the Gold Coast were the Portuguese in the 1470s” (Amenumey, 2008). Various other European powers came to the coast of the country to trade but ultimately it was the British who were able to impose their author-
(top) Independence Plaza in Accra. (bottom) Tigo corporate headquarters, also located in Accra.