Thirteenth Global Studies Conference

Abstract

In Ghana, about 80% of the land is under the control of the traditional rulers (chiefs) and family members, whilst the remaining 20% is controlled by the government. This thus indicates the level of absolute power and allodia right control over access, use, and ownership of land in Ghana by chiefs through the customary approach. This approach to ownership predates the today sovereign Ghana, which requires that a more pragmatic and robust administrative and legal process of access, use, and ownership would have been achieved. However, there exists a catalogue of challenges in this regard, with food security, conflict, poor rural-urban planning, governance as adverse outcomes. One critical approach considered to help address some of these issues is land digitalisation. It is the process of developing digitized land registry system by instituting an electronic and networked land information system from all stakeholders. With the challenge of dwindling revenue projections in Ghana with so many social development projects that require huge capital funding, the digitizing process is posited to increase revenue on land and property tax collection, transparency in handling land records, duplication of sales, protecting the interest of all stakeholders and ultimately consolidating the governance process for government and chiefs. With these accounts and its expected import, a thorough, detailed literature review on the prospects and likely challenges of the government of the digitizing attempt in Ghana from these multidimensional stakeholders is indispensable with focus on existing best practices globally.