Ex-Post Analysis of Land Title Registration in Ghana Since 2008 Merger

Abstract

Land ownership and security of title have continued to dominate land management discourses in many developing economies, leading to a proliferation of studies that explore, among other things, the nexus between land title registration and land security, women’s access to land, innovation in agriculture, access to finance, and economic development. For many years, Ghana experienced minimal success in formalizing land ownership and title registration. However, public confidence and expectations were raised once more in 2008 with the merger of four disparate land agencies into the New Lands Commission (NLC) under the overarching ambit of the Land Administration Project (LAP). This article contributes to existing studies by evaluating the impact of the 2008 merger. This is accomplished by matching the project’s stated objectives with actual outcomes and situating the findings in the broader theoretical debate about land title registration and economic development. Using data gathered through interviews with officials of the Greater Accra Lands Commission and with prospective land title holders, the study concludes that there have not been any great gains in achieving the complete digitization of the title registration process and follow-up procedures. However, there has been a reduction in the turn-around time for processing land documents, from more than 36 months to about 3 months, as well as increased public awareness about the process of title registration. The study recommends further training of staff members of the NLC in handling the digitization process, institutionalization of anti-corruption and anti-bribery practices, and the introduction of a well-functioning customer feedback system.