Ownership and Access to Land in Urban Mamprugu, Northern Ghana

Abstract

This paper explores land ownership and access to land in the urban areas of Mamprugu in the Northern Region of Ghana. An overview of the system of land ownership and access in the rural areas for both residential and agricultural purposes has been used as a background for the understanding of the changes provoked by urbanization. The information used was qualitative through key informant interviews, observation and group discussions. The study revealed that land ownership and access in the traditional rural context was often in tranquility and rarely encountered conflicts. Occasional conflicts arising from the traditional rural arrangements were often easier to resolve. Also, the financial costs have been considered to be within the means of the average family or household in the locality.  However, it was observed that access to land by women in the traditional framework subtly deprived women because of the patrilineal system of inheritance and the role assigned to women by the society. In the urban context, land ownership and access is in transition with a combination of traditional and modern institutions in land administration for residential and public infrastructure purposes. The study observed increasing incidence of land disputes in Mamprugu as urbanization progresses. It is recommended that the three district assemblies in Mamprugu in collaboration with the traditional authorities initiate a joint programme to address causes of the emerging problems in the few urban settlements. A successful handling of the problems of land administration in the few urban settlements would serve as gateway to urban land administration in future emerging towns and cities in the traditional area.