Abstract:
At a time of intensifying urbanisation in Ghana, ineffective spatial
planning is one of the symptomatic challenges of urban growth
in the country. In the Ghanaian context, traditional authorities
(chiefs) play a disproportionate role in urban land management
due to the fact that a vast proportion of the country’s land is
held in customary tenurial arrangements. The role of the
traditional authorities in (urban) land management is given legal
status by national constitutional provisions that recognise chiefs
as fiduciaries of the land held under customary tenure. The state supported customary land secretariats (CLSs) perform these
responsibilities in conjunction with the local government
structures. They are largely being operationalised through urban
land-use planning. However, the complex factors and processes
of rapid urban growth have had unintended consequences. These
include increased urban land values, speculative and informal
land markets, and overlapping governance/power structures. The
outcome has been the reported commodification and
administration of urban land by chiefs for personal gain. These
complex processes evolve at the intersection of traditional and
modern governance structures which are opportunistically
interpreted and applied to achieve certain ends. This article
demonstrates how these changes in customary land
administration are evolving in Tamale, Ghana. Qualitative
interviews were undertaken with participants from relevant
statutory land sector institutions, local government officials and
traditional authorities. Using the lens of urban governance and
planning practices, the article explores the outcomes of chief-led
spatial planning and customary land administration practices and
associated land markets in Tamale. These are social, economic
and spatial inequalities, as well as urban governance challenges.
