Land Administration Project and Conflict Management in the Kumasi Metropolis

Abstract

Since the passage of the Ghana National Land Policy in 1999, land administration and management institutions have struggled to improve on land recording system, and in particular, that of bottom-up local land administration at the local customary land areas. This study assessed the efficacy of the conflict management mechanisms used in the Land Administration Project (LAP) in the Kumasi Metropolis of the Ashanti Region, Ghana. The study design and approach was basically qualitative in nature. The target population comprised 17 land owners, 3 traditional authorities, 3 officials of the land sector agencies and 3 staff of the courts. The findings of the study indicate that the design and implementation of the LAP in the Kumasi Metropolis led to the digitization of land administration in Kumasi. The study revealed that adjudication by chiefs or elders is the dominant land conflict management mechanism in the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly. With respect to the efficacy of the LAP in managing land-related conflicts in the Kumasi Metropolis, the study revealed that it has played a major role in land conflict management as it enables the protagonist to use a centralized unit to resolve all conflicting issues related to lease, site plans and cadastral maps. Another key finding is the reduction in the transaction cost for land-related matters such as the time for processing land documents and fraudulent activities of actors in the land market. It is recommended that the LAP secretariat, through the Lands Commission, should create more awareness of the services offered by the project and further ensure that there is more improvement in the efficiency of land acquisition and documentation. © University of Cape Coast https://ir.ucc.edu.gh/xmluiSince the passage of the Ghana National Land Policy in 1999, land administration and management institutions have struggled to improve on land recording system, and in particular, that of bottom-up local land administration at the local customary land areas. This study assessed the efficacy of the conflict management mechanisms used in the Land Administration Project (LAP) in the Kumasi Metropolis of the Ashanti Region, Ghana. The study design and approach was basically qualitative in nature. The target population comprised 17 land owners, 3 traditional authorities, 3 officials of the land sector agencies and 3 staff of the courts. The findings of the study indicate that the design and implementation of the LAP in the Kumasi Metropolis led to the digitization of land administration in Kumasi. The study revealed that adjudication by chiefs or elders is the dominant land conflict management mechanism in the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly. With respect to the efficacy of the LAP in managing land-related conflicts in the Kumasi Metropolis, the study revealed that it has played a major role in land conflict management as it enables the protagonist to use a centralized unit to resolve all conflicting issues related to lease, site plans and cadastral maps. Another key finding is the reduction in the transaction cost for land-related matters such as the time for processing land documents and fraudulent activities of actors in the land market. It is recommended that the LAP secretariat, through the Lands Commission, should create more awareness of the services offered by the project and further ensure that there is more improvement in the efficiency of land acquisition and documentation.