Chiefs, changing trust relations and land use planning in Ghana

Abstract

In Ghana, both statutes and customs designate chiefs as trustees of customary lands. Based on evidence from four case study areas, the study establishes that, some chiefs are redefining their roles as trustees and are increasingly becoming the principal beneficiaries of revenue that accrue from granting of community lands. This drives chiefs to alter land use plans or engage unqualified people to prepare defective ‘land use plans’, that become the basis for guiding the growth of human settlements. These practices contribute to the poor state of planning delivery. Based on the findings, the study recommends that strengthening the capacity of state planning institutions and empowering communities to demand accountability from chiefs are crucial in the quest to improve land use planning delivery in Ghana.Keywords: Accountability, customary land tenure, chiefs, trusteeship, land use planning