Voir le volume 2 - gemdev

109uncompleted in the peri-urban areas because of the absence of services. This, naturally, locks updevelopment funds unduly.In many cases, purchasers of land in the customary sector in Kumasi can expect a very high degreeof title security. This is because of the performance of the Asantehene’s Lands Secretariat, whichserves as a clearinghouse for all land transactions in the city. Thus, issues connected with dual salesof land which breed title insecurity in places like Accra are virtually non-existent in Kumasi.Purchasers of interests in land in Kumasi usually obtain leasehold titles. This interest is usually for99 years for residential development, and 50 years for agricultural, commercial and industrialdevelopment. Lessees have the right to deal in any way with their properties with the only provisothat they will seek the formal consent of the lessor (i.e. the customary owner). The lessee can assignthe remainder of his interest to a third party. He can mortgage his interest for a loan for whateverpurpose and he can sub-let part of his interest. On his death the lessee can bequeath the land to hisheirs. Under normal circumstances the consent is automatic except that the lessee is expected tomake some payment to the lessor to obtain the consent. Since the interest is leasehold, it wouldexpire one day and revert to the landowner. The leases may, however, be renewed under certaincircumstances which will depend on the wishes of both the lessor and the lessee.The leasehold interest obtained from the neo-customary holders can be registered under the LandTitle Registration Law, 1986 (PNDCL 156) which is the law governing land title registration in thecountry. Under this law, titles to land are guaranteed by the State once such titles are registered inthe Registry. This makes the titles very secure. All dealings in the land after the first registration areentered into the Title Register as encumbrances.The leasehold interests obtained from the customary owners can be dealt with in the open marketwithout any hindrance from the landowners except for the covenant not “mortgage, assign orotherwise part with possession of the property without the consent of the landlord” which is anormal covenant in all the leases. To obtain the consent of the customary owner, the lessee has toapply in writing to the Lands Commission who will forward the application to the lessor for thenecessary action to be taken. The lessee will be invited to meet the lessor who will negotiate for theappropriate fee to be paid.The fact that a person has a lease does not absolve him from obtaining planning and buildingpermits for his development. On the other hand, a person will not be given planning permission tocarry out any development unless the person can show that he has a leasehold interest in the land.This is a check on developers to ensure that they possess the requisite title for their buildingoperations. However, this is not to say that many of the new developments in peri-urban Kumasihave planning and building permits. In practice, many of the properties are unauthorizeddevelopments but this is not because of the titles of the owners. It is usually due to the inability ofthe planning authorities to expedite action on planning applications from developers. This leadsmany people to carry out their developments without permissionIn many respects the neo-customary system meets the demands of the modern economy in so far asthe titles it conveys are concerned. It needs to be noted that Kumasi presents a better picture thanother parts of the country, particularly, the capital city, Accra, where many problems plaque landdevelopers.There is no evidence that the neo-customary system consciously discriminates against women inland delivery – particularly in the urban areas. As already stated, the qualifying element is a109