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Urbanisation and development of land market in the absence of a complete land register in developing countries: Lessons from central and eastern Europe

Ofosuhene, Ebenezer Yaw (2020) Urbanisation and development of land market in the absence of a complete land register in developing countries: Lessons from central and eastern Europe.

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Abstract:In the Global North where land registers have complete coverage of land information, land registration systems improve information symmetry among actors in the land market by reducing the uncertainty in identifying owners, extent, value and permitted use of land which reduces the risks associated with land transactions. Yet in the peri-urban areas of Sekondi-Takoradi in Ghana, there has been a surge in demand for land by investors and private developers for industrial and residential developments in response to the discovery of the Jubilee Oil Field off the coast of Ghana despite the low coverage of land registration in the area. The situation in Ghana is similar to the experience of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries during the transition into market economies where the absence of complete land information stalled the restoration of private land rights and development of an active land market. This study investigates how actors in the land market carry out land transactions in the absence of a complete land register. Using a comparative research design, the context of CEE is set against Ghana to identify lessons that are useful to improve land registration in support of the urbanised land market in peri-urban areas in Ghana. Actors in the urbanised land market in Ghana rely on unofficial sources of land information from residents, Estate Agents, State officials acting in unofficial capacities and customary leaders in land transactions to validate official land records. The actors also adopt a host of measures including staying away from land transactions considered risky and payment of land values in instalments to manage risks in the urbanised land market. Similarly, during the early stages of transition in CEE, the land market dominated by land rentals was considered risky as actors failed to secure credit from lenders, governments withheld the right to the alienation of restored land and adopted area-based flat rates for land taxation. However, the CEE countries within a relatively short period achieved complete coverage of land registers through leveraging of existing strengths, computerisation of registration processes, prioritisation of user requirements and capacity development of human resources to meet the new demands of the land market. From the comparison of the state of land information, land registration systems and management of risk in the absence of a complete land register, the best practices identified from the experience of CEE countries included the completion of land registration within a short period, adoption of incentive-based and user-oriented land registration systems, and achievement of public trust in land registration systems which can be adapted to Ghana’s context. Keywords: Land registration, Land market, Land information, Urbanisation, Actors, Risk
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:ITC: Faculty of Geo-information Science and Earth Observation
Programme:Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation MSc (75014)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/90657
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