Customary Land Secretariats: Evolution and Prospects

Customary Land Secretariats (CLS) are specialised offices established by local landowning communities with the support from central government under the auspices of the Land Administration Project of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to improve land management and administration at the local level.

The land secretariats serve as an interface between the landowning communities and the public land sector agencies.  

They provide land administrative services for holders and seekers of customary land rights working under the direct authority of traditional authorities. Manned by local people (mainly volunteers), CLSs preserved records are available to all members of the community and the public in general.

They operate under a well-constituted land management committee (LMC) appointed by the traditional authorities.

The idea to have chiefs and the traditional authorities keeping records and documenting land transactions is a noble one under the Ghana Land Administration Project, which is a long-term plan of 15-25 years to improve on land administration which includes reviewing existing laws on land, cutting cost and time of doing business as regards to land title and deed registration, and decentralising land administration for an efficient, transparent and sustainable land system for Ghana.

The project, which has been set in phases, was to have 50 CLSs dotted across the country with the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands (OASL) mandated to set up these offices.

Under the first phase of the project, 37 customary land secretariats were established between 2003 and 2010.The second phase of the Project- LAP-2, launched in September 2011, has established 10 more CLSs to bring the number to 47; a clear indication that the project is poised to exceed its original target of setting up 50 of such secretariats by the end of the second phase in 2016.

A visit to the three existing CLS offices in the Central Region, from Asebu, Dunkwa-on-Offin and Odupong Kpehe, all had the  co-ordinators revealing that the existence of  LMC, which was mandated to set  out guidelines on land management in the area, was essential in land administration in the districts. 

The LMC also have the responsibilities of decentralising the activities of the CLSs to the other communities in the traditional area. They appoint local officers in all the communities who will be responsible for the land transactions and records in their respective communities.

On the issue of minimising land- related disputes and conflicts in the districts and local communities, the CLS is one venture that the locals can look up to for resolution; all the three offices in the Central Region for example admit that since the  establishment  of some of the offices, they have been called upon to resolve land disputes in their communities.

It has also clarified land rights and ownership especially for the vulnerable, in areas where gender disparity is high.  

Through public outreach forums and gender mainstreaming workshops, organised by the project and the Office of Administrator of Stool Lands, one of the implementing agencies of LAP-2,  women, peasant farmers and the poor have been encouraged to register their lands, and the CLS offices have seen an increase in women stepping up to register land throughout the country.

The exciting thing about the CLS is the fact that the project provides technical assistance in the form of training and skill development in areas such as land administration and management.

The project, under the auspices of the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands, also provides furniture and basic equipment to the CLSs.

This is evident in the newly established CLS office in Eguafo in the Central Region, Ngleshie Alata in Greater Accra, Avatime in the Volta Region, Adankragya in the Ashanti Region, Duayaw Nkwanta in the Western Region, Kpembi in the Northern Region, Buwa in Upper West, Kuang in the Upper East, Akyem Bososme in the Eastern and Eastern Nzema in the Western Region.

A number of allodial landowners or customary landowners such as stool/skins, clans, Tindanas and landowning families as well as various groups are currently processing applications across the country to have a land secretariat established for them and to access the opportunity.

Another unique feature of LAP under the auspices of OASL is the provision of the customary boundary demarcation (CBD) which is expected to be undertaken with the active participation of adjoining communities and landowners. 

The CBD has to do with the identification, demarcation and survey of allodial lands of a beneficiary traditional /family land with the adjoining paramount stools or families to ensure easy identification and documentation.

Unlike the supply-led approach that was the main feature of CBDs piloted during LAP 1, the CBD under LAP 2 is demand driven, meaning the owners of the land or traditional authorities who wish to have their boundaries demarcated must apply to the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands, just as is the case for the establishment of a customary land secretariat.

The idea is to let the locals own these ventures so as to be able to run, operate and maintain them effectively. 

The CBD will improve land tenure security through reducing risks such as land grabbing, encroachment, disputes and expropriation since the demarcation ensures that land boundaries of beneficiary family or traditional authority are easily  identified with a map.

In addition to the CBD enhancing the opportunity to resolve boundary-related disputes and the recording of accurate data on land boundaries, it also ensures the registration of land to improve and increase the value of land.

The Deputy Stool Lands Officer of the Central Region, Mr Tom Archer, believes that the establishment of the CLSs is a “positive step towards a sound and dispute free land administration system for Ghana” and that ‘’the Land Administration Project (LAP-2) of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the World Bank, which provides funding for the project, ought to be commended for the establishment of the CLSs.” 

The Writer is the Central Regional Communication and Public Outreach Officer of the Lands Commission.