ABSTRACT
The capacity to plan, develop
and coordinate the spatial distribution of human activities in rapidly growing
settlements is critical for national socio-economic progress. Using
Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis as a study area, this research compares and
contrasts the two land administrative systems, namely, State Lands and Stool Lands
and assesses their relative influences on physical development. Following
preliminary investigations and the updating of sector layouts for the five
selected areas, primary data was collected on a sample of 250 homeowners
selected through systematic sampling technique while institutions were
purposively selected for in-depth interviews. The research found that the Land
Allocation committees were ineffective and as result, the land purchasers dealt
with chiefs rather than the committee. The analyses also showed that planning
schemes were not comprehensive enough to meet increasing demands for
recreational and commercial activities. The Traditional Authorities were not
informed about updates to sector layouts and as a result allocated lands were
based on old planning schemes. These updates were largely carried out to
retrofit uncontrolled physical development into the planning schemes. The land
documentation process was found to be time consuming and burdensome. As a
result, physical development occurred contrary to planning schemes as
developers ignored the process. This uncoordinated development was also
attributable to the weak resource base in terms of logistics, funds and staff
capacity in the official land sector institutions.
The study recommends that state
institution should offer training to the chiefs as well as the Land Allocation
Committee. Experts on land issues should constitute the committee in order to
discharge their duties effectively. The committee members are also to ensure
that the necessary official documents are obtained by the developers to before
development is carried out. In order to minimize unauthorised development of
the study recommends that lands on the frontages of major roads should be
designated for residential/commercial uses. Thus purely residential uses should
not permitted along major roads. Institutions like the Building Inspectorate
Division and the Survey Unit should be privatised and run as a commercial
entity in order to generate money for the smooth running of the office. The
Land Use Planning Bill which is currently before Parliament should be hastened
to make Physical Planning Department an autonomous organisation with powers to
enforce development control.
CHAPTER ONE
BACKGROUND ANALYSES OF URBAN LAND
USE AND ADMINISTRATION
1.1 Background of the Research
As a critical natural resource,
land supports all forms of human activities. It is the source of investments in
agriculture, infrastructure, housing, industry and trade which provides various
forms of livelihoods and generates wealth. Land is an economic resource and
social asset which has spatial and environmental implications. As a result
effective and efficient land administration is needed to sustain it for present
and future generation (UNECA, 2004). The use or function to which land is put
is seen as land use. Urban land use is used in several ways and has attracted
various definitions in contemporary planning literature. The underlying
definition that cut across views land use as the spatial distribution of the
functions (such as residential areas, commercial centres, and the spaces set
aside for institutional and leisure-time activities) a city plays.
Land use planning is a process
which involves designating space for various land uses with reverence to
planning principle including comfort, aesthetic, compatibility of uses and
accessibility. The objective is to ensure planned and coordinated development.
Land allocation influences the land use planning in that when the owners of
land do not alienate land with reference to planning schemes, planned
development will not be achieved.
Urban land use planning promotes
harmonious spatial distribution of human activities. It describes the manner in
which humans utilize land to provide shelter, office space, recreational area,
extraction of minerals, and agricultural purposes (Briassoulis, 1999). Miller
(1996:265) has argued that land use decides “the best present and future use of
each parcel of land in an area”. It does this by addressing present interests,
aspirations, power relations and livelihood concerns while making provisions
for the sustenance of future generations. Another component of land use
planning is the flexibility factor. Flexibility is seen as the ability to
tolerate unexpected changes in circumstances, and produce new or amended plans
quickly when necessary. Prepared layouts and effective legislative instruments
are necessary for development control. The absence of these however leads to
haphazard development which has environmental
and socio-economic consequences (UNECA, 2004). The conception of new
subdivisions of land and new trends of land use has significant impact on the
land market. The urban land economists on the other hand hold the view that,
free exchange within a system of private property rights leads to efficient
resource allocation. The derivation of the bid-rent curve concept which
indicates that land markets allocate heterogeneous parcels of land to their
highest and best uses in light of household consumption choices was an early
achievement in land economics. The alienation and development of land has therefore
been established on different approaches. To ensure sustainability and
coordinated land use developments, the administration of land should be a
priority to all governments.
Land administration covers the
recording and dissemination of information about the ownership, value and use
of land (UNECA, 2004). Dale and McLaughlin (1999) view land administration as a
combination of routine processes. These processes begins from regulating land
development and conservation of land; revenue mobilization from land
transactions and resolution of land conflicts. Steudler et al (2004) sum up
these components as land ownership, land development control and land use
planning and fiscal (land taxation) and information management. Land use is
influenced by land development, socially rooted determinants of land use; and
public interest as a determinant of land use. The kind of development that is
highly demanded, as well as the traditional setting (customs and beliefs)
influences the kind of land use designed for the area. The interest of the
public is also highly recognised and that can alter the use to which land is
put.
The control and management of land
has been problematic in urban centers in developing countries particularly in
sub-Sahara Africa (Getis et al. 2006; Kombe and Kreibich, 1997). The existing
systems of land tenure which shape the urban land market have far-reaching
implications for urban planning. As Gareth (1991), Olima (1993), Kivell (1993)
have suggested, whoever controls landholdings controls the land market and
determines the nature of urban planning.
Lands in Africa are predominantly
owned and managed by traditional authorities, chiefs, clan heads and families
(Arko-Adjei, 2005; LAP, 2007; Kasanga et al. 1996; Ubink 2008). The land
ownership systems in Ghana are state lands, vested lands and customary lands.
The customary sector holds about 80 percent of all land whereas the state and vested lands consist of
about 20 percent with varying tenure and management systems (Arko-Adjei, 2005).
These different systems complicate the physical development processes and
outcomes. Customarily land is viewed as a resource that belongs to, and
connects the living, the dead and the unborn (Dadson, 2006). It is seen as a
property that has to be preserved and efficiently used so that it can be passed
on from one generation to the other. However, in the contemporary era, economic
considerations have generally displaced these cultural perspectives. While
traditional authorities manage the lands, the actual utilisation of the land is
determined by official land management institutions.
Customary authorities are
responsible for the allocation, administration and management of a large
percentage of the area of the country. Traditional authorities maintain a
strong position with regard to land. They play a prominent role in land
delivery, land development and its management. Under the traditional system
chiefs, sub-chiefs and other agents of the traditional authorities are
responsible for the allocation and management of the stool/skin lands. Chiefs
and family heads that hold the land in trust for the people possess strong
traditional, political and economic authority but do not match up to the skills
needed for land allocation and its management. Wehrmann (2008) states that,
competition between developers‟ results in the double sale of land by land
owners and change of use without conformity to plans.
These systems influence the urban
land market and therefore shape the spatial distribution of land development
and urban economic activities in a largely unplanned manner with implications
for development. The Local Government Act, 1993 (Act 462) vests the
responsibility to control land development in human settlements in the „hands‟
to the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDA‟s). This role is
performed by the Physical Planning Department (PPD) and Works Departments.
There is therefore an apparent tension created between the traditional authorities
and the official land managers. In Ghana, land administration is beleaguered by
a countless problems including general „indiscipline‟ in the land market, which
have led to encroachments on public spaces and multiple land sales (Arko-Adjei,
2005; LAP, 2007; Ubink, 2008). These problems have contributed to conflicts and
litigations between land developers and among traditional authorities. Some
strategies put in place by Government, such as capacity building and training
in Geographic Information System (GIS) of land
sector staff, participatory planning (bottom-up approach to planning), and the
Land Administration Project (LAP) have led to an improvement in the land
sector. However, these solutions have mainly focused on enhancing the capacity
of land related institutions. There is still a growing outcry for better land
delivery and management systems to ensure coordinated spatial development. This
research therefore explores the weaknesses and tensions associated with the
official and traditional land administrative systems in the Sekondi-Takoradi
Metropolis.
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