Land Administration Reforms: Institutional Design for Land Registration System in Ghana

Abstract

Securing land rights and the rationalisation of the debate on formalisation of land rights through titling have been the focus of many scholars for some time now. At least, there is consensus among most scholars that land registration is one of the ways of addressing these issues and that current land registration system in most developing countries needs reforms. This paper examines the design and implementation processes of land registration reforms in Ghana. Using the Greater Accra Regional Lands Commission as a case study and institutional design theories, the article analysed how land registration reforms were design and implemented. The paper shows that the design strategies for the reforms were harmonisation of policies and laws and organisation restructuring at the organisational and process levels, but staff resistance to change led to implementation flaws. The paper recommends that institution design of land registration reforms must be combined with the theory of change where all staff are taken through the new organisation’s work ethics and attitudinal change processes adequately.

User and Systems Requirement Framework for Electronic Land Registration Systems Decentralisation in Ghana

“…The drive to transform land registration systems from manual to electronic systems started in 1999. The 1999 national land policy heralded the commencement of land registration reforms [5]. The policy provided a guideline that saw the implementation of the Land Administration Project (LAP) I and II.…”

“…The First Phase of the project aimed to (i) improve valuation and information, and land titling registration (ii) harmonising land regulatory and policy framework for sustainable land administration and (iii) institutional development and reform. In 2012, LAP II introduced new departments within the Lands Commission to serve as an entry point for electronic transactions [5] . These include the Clients Services Access Unit (CSAU) and the Ghana Enterprise Land Information System (GELIS).…”

“…However, most land information systems have limitedly achieved their intended aims due to lack of adherence to user and systems requirements. Governments are interested in harmonising policies and reforms as system design strategies than recognising the need for consultation and feedback from users and stakeholders in the design process [5] . These lead to staff resistance across most developing land administration systems.…”

“…In Ghana, the land registration system is partly electronic and complex. The procedures are long due to interwoven classes of land ownership and registration requirements [5] . Often, there are institutional challenges such as overlapping claims of ownership by users, unclear land registration processes, presence of unknown staff (ex-national service workers), poor conditions of service, lack of collaboration among the land registration institutions and their stakeholders [3,8] .…”

“…Often, there are institutional challenges such as overlapping claims of ownership by users, unclear land registration processes, presence of unknown staff (ex-national service workers), poor conditions of service, lack of collaboration among the land registration institutions and their stakeholders [3,8] . Few studies on land registration have been carried out in Ghana to identify user needs with the view to satisfying them [3,5,8,33] . Until now these studies have focused on analysing land administrative practices, and they proposed numerous theoretical approaches for proper land registration system at the centralised level in Ghana.…”