In the Land of the Dammed: Assessing Governance in Resettlement of Ghana’s Bui Dam Project

Abstract

Resettlement resulting from dam construction has raised several concerns due to the negative aftermath impacts. In Ghana, the construction of three hydroelectric dams resulted in large-scale resettlements. Given the little experience that Ghana has in resettlements, it is necessary for a robust monitoring structure for resettlements. However, this was not available in the last resettlement undertaken for the Bui Dam Project. This paper aims at developing an assessment framework for monitoring resettlement activities on customary lands from a good governance perspective. Based on four good governance principles, transparency, public participation and inclusiveness, equity and rule of law and accountability, a good governance assessment framework is built and applied to the Bui Dam Project using a case study approach. Data were collected through interviews and focus group discussion with the key actors of the resettlement project. It was first found that the planning stage of the resettlement came out with a robust plan that was to prevent the impoverishment of the affected persons. However, in the implementation of the resettlement, not all good governance principles were adhered to. In conclusion, it was found that by deconstructing the resettlement process with a good governance framework, the problematic areas of the resettlement can be effectively differentiated between the planning and implementation phases.

Indicators for Measuring Spatial Justice and Land Tenure Security for Poor and Low Income Urban Dwellers

“…This allows the local community to adopt strategies that preserve its rights over land resources for their livelihoods [16,62,70]. However, when spatial development programmes infringe upon those land rights, the pursuit of procedural justice in combination with recognition and redistribution permits the design and implementation of rules and strategies for fair compensation to affected people so that they can continue their lives [62,[96][97][98]. In a nutshell, recognition justice promotes land tenure security through the respect and protection of all people's right to land resources through inclusive and participatory management of land resources.…”

Gender, Land and Food Access in Ghana’s Suburban Cities: A Case of the Adenta Municipality

“…This philosophy positions the land governance literature as a multiple component system that embraces various aspects including land availability, equity, transparency and participation [19]. Within land governance, these rights are granted to all persons who are members of the group, male or female [12,34]. However, the foundation that establishes these rules relating to the ownership, use and entitlement of land narrows the inclusion of women [11].…”

Land valuation in support of responsible land consolidation on Ghana’s rural customary lands

“…These are often used for urban lands and rural residential land parcels as these are mostly held in leaseholds which are traded on the land market (Awuah et al, 2016). However, the customary freeholds, tenancies and licences are not valued much since they are hardly traded, except for cases of compulsory land acquisition (Kidido et al, 2015;Asiama et al, 2017a;Asiama et al, 2017d). Valuation of customary lands further presents a challenge in the process of land valuation, as customary lands are unlikely to be registered due to the layered land tenure, and the low land mobility by which it is characterised.…”

“…This is characterised by Elias (1956), who describes customary lands as belonging to many who are dead, a few who are living and a countless host yet unborn. However, despite this characterisation, where land is acquired by the government for public purposes or by private companies for large-scale investments, these bodies strive to pay fair and adequate compensation (Anim-Odame, 2011; Kidido et al, 2015;Asiama et al, 2017d). This is done in a manner to ensure that all stakeholders in the land are considered and catered for, as Boydell (2015) demonstrates through use of stakeholder analysis.…”