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The politics of customary land rights transformation in peri-urban Ghana: Powers of exclusion in the era of land commodification

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  • Akaateba, Millicent Awialie

Abstract

The scholarly discourse on the transformation of customary land tenure systems in SSA is advancing theoretically and empirically. This paper contributes to this evolving debate by drawing upon qualitative case studies of mundane practices of land delivery in Tamale and Techiman, Ghana to understand the powers underpinning the transformation of customary land rights. In the wake of rapid urbanisation, processes of land commodification are intensifying, resulting in the re-interpretation and re-negotiation of customary land tenure systems and exclusions in peri-urban areas in Ghana. Chiefly, state and market powers are mutually reinforcing in the politics of exclusion and the transformation of customary land rights in peri-urban Ghana. Contrary to current international land policy trends that laud the adaptability and negotiability of customary tenure, the evidence in this paper shows that in contexts of rapid urbanisation and unequal power relations, customary tenure regimes can be manipulated to produce exclusionary outcomes. Therefore, the paper concludes that rather than local custom and formal planning serving as regulatory functions to protect the public interest; they emerge as powers of exclusion acting in synergy with market forces to displace usufructuary interest holders.

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  • Akaateba, Millicent Awialie, 2019. "The politics of customary land rights transformation in peri-urban Ghana: Powers of exclusion in the era of land commodification," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:88:y:2019:i:c:s0264837719302741
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104197
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    6. Kehinde Hassan Babalola & Simon Hull & Jennifer Whittal, 2023. "Assessing Peri-Urban Land Management Using 8Rs Framework of Responsible Land Management: The Case of Peri-Urban Land in Ekiti State, Nigeria," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-22, September.
    7. Sumbo, Dennis Kamaanaa & Anane, George Kwadwo & Inkoom, Daniel Kweku Baah, 2023. "‘Peri-urbanisation and loss of arable land’: Indigenes’ farmland access challenges and adaptation strategies in Kumasi and Wa, Ghana," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    8. Festus A. Asaaga, 2021. "Building on “Traditional” Land Dispute Resolution Mechanisms in Rural Ghana: Adaptive or Anachronistic?," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-17, February.
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    10. Gertrude Dzifa Torvikey, 2022. "Land and Contestations over Autochthony and Local Citizenship in Agrarian Ghana," Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, Centre for Agrarian Research and Education for South, vol. 11(1), pages 134-157, April.
    11. Biddulph, Robin & Hillbom, Ellen, 2020. "Registration of private interests in land in a community lands policy setting: An exploratory study in Meru district, Tanzania," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    12. Adekola, Oluwafemi & Krigsholm, Pauliina & Riekkinen, Kirsikka, 2023. "Adapted institutional analysis and development framework for understanding customary land institutions in sub-Saharan Africa – A case study from Nigeria," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    13. Agboola, Alirat Olayinka & Amidu, Abdul-Rasheed & Olapade, Daramola Thompson & Odebode, Adedayo Ayodeji, 2023. "Transnational large-scale land investments in developing economies: What role do formal institutions play?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    14. Amanuel Weldegebriel & Engdawork Assefa & Meron Tekalign & Anton Van Rompaey, 2022. "Urban Land Monetization-Driven Land Use Orientations: An Insight from Land Lease Prices in Addis Ababa," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-21, May.
    15. Lankono, Charity Bazaabadire & Forkuor, David & Asaaga, Festus Atribawuni, 2023. "Examining the impact of customary land secretariats on decentralised land governance in Ghana: Evidence from stakeholders in Northern Ghana," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).

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