The Management of Urban Land in Ghana

Population trends currently indicate that more than half of Ghana's population currently lives in urban areas. The pressures of urbanization and fast growing population of the cities have therefore impacted on land management. This study analyzed land management practices in Accra and Kumasi in view of rapid urbanization. The study analyzed issues such as the operation of the land markets in the cities - trend of land use, ownership and land values, sources and process of land acquisition. Customary land ownership in the two cities constitutes about 90%. The value of land in Accra is relatively higher than in Kumasi. Accra has only one recognized customary land secretariat (CLS) whose power is limited to only Gbawe. It was also found that many individuals, families and stools own land in Accra as compared to Kumasi where all the lands belong to Asantehene under the caretaker chiefs. This makes resolution of conflicts on land in Kumasi easier as compared to Accra. Problems associated with land management include inadequate logistics, poor documentation of transactions, fragmented institutions, inadequate cooperation and coordination among the Land Sector Agencies (LSAs),