Improving Accountability Of Chiefs In Land Administration In Ghana: A Case Study Of Stool Land Administration Reforms In The Akyem Abuakwa Traditional State

ABSTRACT

Scholars have noted that cultural ideas and power imbalances weaken accountability of

chiefs in stool lands administration in Ghana. For this reason, the Land Administration

Project (LAP) was initiated in 2001 with its main objective of ensuring transparency and

accountability in stool land administration through the creation of Customary Land

Secretariat (CLS). This study evaluated the extent to which the CLS has improved

accountability of chiefs in stool land administration in the Akyem Abuakwa traditional

state in Ghana, using the rational choice institutional theory to explain the nature and

effectiveness of the CLS. In terms of methodology, the research used an interpretive

philosophical approach to pursue a qualitative case study. In-depth interviews, a focus

group discussion (FGD) and direct observations were used to collect data from chiefs and

other actors involved in stool land administration for analysis. The findings of the research

suggest that ideas and interests of actors are very important for the success of every

institutional reform. The idea and power relations of chiefs influenced their ability to

undermine the effectiveness of the CLS in ensuring their accountability to the local

communities. The study concluded that the CLS created at Akyem Abuakwa State has not

been an effective organization for improving the accountability of chiefs in stool land

administration due to lack of ideological and political support from chiefs and the ‘subjects’

of chiefs. The study recommends that institutional reformers should look beyond the

economic interests of stakeholders to take seriously the ideas and power relations of actors

that actually enable or obstruct the goals of institutional reforms.