Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Maps, Figures, and Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Map 1 The Gold Coast, 1907
- Map 2 Regions of Ghana since 1983
- 1 Introduction
- 2 “This Situation Is Incongruous in the Extreme”: The History of Land Policies in the Upper Regions of Ghana
- 3 Who Owns Bolgatanga? The Revival of the Earthpriest and Emerging Tensions over Property
- 4 Seizing Opportunities: Chieftaincy, Land, and Local Administration
- 5 Settled Facts or Facts to Settle: Land Conflicts under Institutional Uncertainty
- 6 “Bawku Is Still Volatile”: Ethnopolitical Conflict and State Recognition
- 7 The Rent of Nonenforcement: Access to Forest Resources
- 8 Small Dams and Fluid Tenure
- 9 Conclusion
- References
- Index
1 - Introduction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 July 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Maps, Figures, and Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Map 1 The Gold Coast, 1907
- Map 2 Regions of Ghana since 1983
- 1 Introduction
- 2 “This Situation Is Incongruous in the Extreme”: The History of Land Policies in the Upper Regions of Ghana
- 3 Who Owns Bolgatanga? The Revival of the Earthpriest and Emerging Tensions over Property
- 4 Seizing Opportunities: Chieftaincy, Land, and Local Administration
- 5 Settled Facts or Facts to Settle: Land Conflicts under Institutional Uncertainty
- 6 “Bawku Is Still Volatile”: Ethnopolitical Conflict and State Recognition
- 7 The Rent of Nonenforcement: Access to Forest Resources
- 8 Small Dams and Fluid Tenure
- 9 Conclusion
- References
- Index
Summary
Any fool can turn the blind eye,
But who knows what the ostrich sees in the sand?
Samuel Beckett, MurphyThe Argument
An excerpt from the “Petition for the Payment of Compensation of Farm Lands at Pobaga-Damweo Residential Area,” dating to 28 June 1999, provides a glimpse of some of the land issues people are facing in Bolgatanga and the Upper East Region of Ghana:
It would be recalled that on the 29th May, 1999, the inhabitants [of Damweo, Bolgatanga] entered to cultivate the land claimed by the Police Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) when they were met with threats of shooting them on sight if they were found entering the land. This unfortunate incident was reported to the Bolga Naba who invited both the incoming and outgoing Directors of BNI and the Regional TUC [Trade Union Congress] Chairman for amicable settlement. At the end of this dialogue, it was agreed that we go back and grow low crops such as groundnuts, beans, etc. It was based on this, that we went back to comply with the terms. We were again met with fierce resistance. This new development was again brought to the notice of the Bolga Naba who invited the BNI Director again for further discussion…. While dialogue was continuing, service personnel were seen cultivating the land to the provocation of the people, thus heightening tension in the area.
The land on which the police station stands was never legally acquired by the government.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008