The Three Movements in the Management of Lands and Natural Resources in Ghana: From the Crown Lands Bill of 1897 to the Land Act of 2020

Abstract

This paper examines the three movements that characterize the ownership and management of lands and natural resources in Ghana since the start of British colonial rule. First, we explore the different stratagems employed by the colonial State in its attempt to introduce the failed Crown Lands Bill that sought to give it control over the locals' lands. Next, we turn the spotlight on the state-centric approach to ownership of lands and natural resources adopted by the post-independent State, particularizing the reasons for the new approach. Finally, we discuss the defining features of the current movement, whose seeds were sown at the close of the second movement but only germinated properly in 1992 with the birth of the Fourth Republic. The paper argues that an appreciation of the different shades that undergird these movements is a crucial step towards understanding the current land tenure system and creating the future we hope for as far as the ownership and management of lands and natural resources in Ghana are concerned.