Assessing the Influence of Land Administration Systems on Physical Development in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis
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ASSESSING THE INFLUENCE OF LAND ADMINISTRATION SYSTEMS ON PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE SEKONDI-TAKORADI METROPOLIS BY FRANCISCA ATTA-BOATENG MAY, 2015 ASSESSING THE INFLUENCE OF LAND ADMINISTRATION SYSTEMS ON PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE SEKONDI-TAKORADI METROPOLIS BY FRANCISCA ATTA-BOATENG B.Sc. (HUMAN SETTLEMENT PLANNING) A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES, KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, KUMASI IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY IN PLANNING DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING COLLEGE OF ART AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT May, 2015 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis is my own handwork in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of degree of Master of Philosophy in Planning and that no part of it has been presented for another degree in this university or elsewhere. To the best of my knowledge, it contains no material previously published by another person or material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree of the University, except where due acknowledgement has been made in the text. FRANCISCA ATTA-BOATENG (PG 1205113) ............................ .................. (STUDENT NAME & ID) SIGNATURE DATE CERTIFIED BY: DR. JUSTICE OWUSU-ANSAH ............................ .................. (SUPERVISOR‟S NAME) SIGNATURE DATE CERTIFIED BY: DR. DANIEL K.B. INKOOM ............................ .................. (HEAD OF DEPARTMENT) SIGNATURE DATE i DEDICATION This research work is entirely dedicated to my mother, Mrs. Lydia Atta-Boateng. She has always believed in me. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank the Almighty God who saw me through this postgraduate programme from the beginning to the end. My sincere gratitude goes to my parents, Reverend Bernard Atta-Boateng and Mrs. Lydia Atta-Boateng, as well as my beloved uncle, Reverend Fredua Agyemang-Prempeh for their support and encouragement throughout my educational career. This thesis would not have been successfully completed without the contributions from several people at the various stages of the process. I want to recognise the assistance provided by my supervisor, Dr. Justice K. Owusu-Ansah of the Department of Planning, whose appetite for originality and perfection really motivated me and kept me on track. I am profoundly grateful to the staff of the land sector institutions in Sekondi-Takoradi, as well as the entire staff of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly. I am particularly grateful to Mr. Ebenezer Dadzie-Paintsil and Mr. Isaac Affum. I wish to thank them for being so resourceful to me during the primary data collection. Finally, I am grateful to my friends particularly Philip Jeffrey Tetteh, a postgraduate student of the Department of Molecular Medicine, Enoch Amoah Mintah, my undergraduate course mate, and Kobina Ebo Apeatse of the Department of Architecture. They have contributed in diverse ways to the successful completion of this programme. May God bless them all. iii 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. iv TABLE OF CONTENT Content Page Declaration.....................................................................................................................i Dedication.....................................................................................................................ii Acknowledgement.......................................................................................................iii Abstract........................................................................................................................iv Table of Content...........................................................................................................v List of Tables.............................................................................................................viii List of Figures..............................................................................................................ix List of Acronyms..........................................................................................................x CHAPTER ONE: BACKGROUND TO URBAN LAND USE AND ADMINISTRATION 1.1 Background of the Research........................................................................1 1.2 Problem Statement.......................................................................................4 1.3 Research Objectives .....................................................................................5 1.4 Research Questions.......................................................................................6 1.5 Scope of the Research...................................................................................6 1.6 Justification for the Research.......................................................................7 1.7 Organization of the report............................................................................8 CHAPTER TWO: A THEORETICAL EXPOSITION ON LAND ADMINISTRATION SYSTEMS AND SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT 2.1 Introduction...................................................................................................9 2.2 The links between land and development...................................................9 2.3 Spatial Structure of Urban Areas..............................................................11 2.4 Urban land market......................................................................................16 2.5 Land Administration...................................................................................18 2.5.1 State/ Formal land administration systems.................................................20 2.5.2 Traditional/ customary land administration systems..................................23 2.5.3 Land administration and spatial development in Ghana...........................24 2.5.3.1 Customary lands............................................................................................30 2.5.3.2 Public/State Lands.........................................................................................33 2.5.3.3 Land Allocation Procedures for Public/State Lands ……………….………...34 2.5.3.4 Allocation Procedures for Stool Lands…………………………………………35 v 2.6 Land related problems and conflicts..........................................................36 2.7 Identified Gaps in the Review..…………………………………………...41 2.8 Conceptual framework................................................................................41 2.9 Chapter Summary …………………………………...……………………43 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY GUIDING THE STUDY 3.1 Introduction.................................................................................................45 3.2 Research Design...........................................................................................45 3.2.1 Preliminary investigation.............................................................................45 3.2.2 Sampling Design...........................................................................................46 3.2.3 Primary data collection methods.................................................................48