Land is a critical factor of production for improving the living conditions of people everywhere. The search for tools (or approaches or strategies or methods) for ensuring that land challenges are resolved in ways that quickly respond to local realities is what led to the development of the fit-for-purpose land administration. This article provides evidence that the fit-for-purpose land administration—as a land-based instrument for development—represents an unprecedented opportunity to provide tenure security in Africa. The article presents case studies from three sub-Saharan African countries on local-level experiences in the applications of fit-for-purpose guidelines as an enabler for engaging in tenure security generating activities in communities. These case studies, drawn from Ghana, Kenya, and Namibia, are based on hands-on local land administration projects that demonstrate how the features of the fit-for-purpose guideline were adopted. Two of the case studies are based on demonstrative projects directly conducted by the researchers (Ghana and Kenya), while the other (Namibia) is based on their engagement in an institutional project in which the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) and other local partners were involved. This work is relevant because it paves a path for land administration practitioners to identify the core features necessary for land-based projects.

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This chapter highlights that matriarchy and matrilineal social orientations are not inherent guarantees of women's access to land but can reinforce male dominance over land ownership, control, and access to land. It notes that social structures and norms are subject to change and, in this instance, colonialization and modernization have acted as the two key influencers in reshaping Asante matriarchy. The researchers argue that the continuous interplay of cultural negotiations within the traditional matriarchal regime have caused a drastic transformation in Asante land tenure system which have fuelled unequal access to land. In effect, a postcolonial Asante woman is no longer guaranteed land tenure security from her family or community and more likely to face the harsh realities of landlessness. The chapter does not assume equal access to land hitherto but notes that the inequality gap has been further widened by the weakening of 'female power' in the matriarchal social system.

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