Institutional Duality in Land Administration: Insights from Collaborative Governance in Ghana

• Published in: Journal of land and rural studies 2024-10
• Main Authors: Ibrahim, Abdul-Salam, Akanbang, Bernard Afiik Akanpabadai, Yakubu, Ibrahim, Nunbogu, Abraham Marshall, Kansanga, Moses, Kuuire, Vincent
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2321-0249; 2321-7464
• DOI: 10.1177/23210249241281857

The global drive for collaboration towards addressing society’s growing complex challenges is gaining more credence in land administration. Collaborative land governance is crucial in Africa, where the duality in land governance, as expressed in the coexistence of statutory and customary land governance institutions, has been a longstanding source of land conflicts. Drawing theoretical insights from collaborative governance and using in-depth interviews with stakeholders across both customary and statutory land governance systems, this study examines the interplay of factors that militate against effective collaborative land governance in Ghana. Findings show that while the legislative framework on land administration in Ghana authorises collaboration, the challenges of limited trust and awareness of land laws, poor facilitative leadership and inadequate resources militate against collaborative land governance. We argue that the weak manifestation of the well-intentioned legislative frameworks for collaborative land governance calls for increased attention to implementation gaps in equal footing to policy formulation.