Ghana: the land question in El Dorado

The report examines the 'land question' in Ghana, identifying a weak institutional base and the political manipulation of land as primary drivers of insecurity. It details how these issues lead to violent disputes, the rise of 'land guards', and economic instability. The document also addresses the impact of large-scale land grabbing by foreign corporations and the systemic marginalization of women and the poor in land access. It concludes that these problems are mirrored across other ECOWAS member states and calls for regional policy leadership and greater accountability for traditional chiefs.

• Ghana's land administration is hindered by a weak institutional base where customary land accounts for approximately 80 per cent of the territory, but registration is extremely low; an official from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources stated that only about eight per cent of land in Ghana was registered.
• The lack of confidence in state institutions, the judiciary, and police has led to the emergence of 'land guards' in Accra—armed groups of young men who use violence, destroy buildings, and run protection rackets to enforce land claims for the highest bidder.
• Land has been used as a political instrument since the colonial era, with both colonial and postcolonial authorities selectively protecting or undermining the rights of chiefs and individuals based on their political loyalty.
• Large-scale 'land grabbing' by multinational companies from countries including China, Brazil, Norway, the Netherlands, and Italy is displacing rural communities; for example, Biofuel Africa's acquisition of 23,700 hectares in Tamale District displaced seven villages.
• Insecure land rights negatively impact Ghana's economy by deterring investment, increasing costs for real estate developers who may have to buy the same land multiple times, and diverting funds from productive investment toward lengthy court litigation.
• Access to land is systematically unequal, with women enjoying less secure rights in both the north and south, and traditional chiefs often monopolising benefits or selling community land for personal gain.

APA

Annan, N., Kabran, E., & Onoma, A. (2013). Ghana: the land question in El Dorado. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/ECOWAS-Report-6-ENG.pdf

Chicago

Annan, Nancy, Emmanuela Kabran, and Ato Onoma. Ghana: the land question in El Dorado. Institute for Security Studies, 2013. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/ECOWAS-Report-6-ENG.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Annan |first1=Nancy |last2=Kabran |first2=Emmanuela |last3=Onoma |first3=Ato |title=Ghana: the land question in El Dorado |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=August 2013 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/ECOWAS-Report-6-ENG.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{annan2013ghana, author = {Annan, Nancy and Kabran, Emmanuela and Onoma, Ato}, title = {{Ghana: the land question in El Dorado}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2013}, month = aug, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/ECOWAS-Report-6-ENG.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }