Ethnic Emancipation and Urban Land Claims

Disenfranchisement of the Ga of Accra, Ghana

Dados Bibliográficos

ID5877233
AutoresIan E A Yeboah (0000-0002-5772-9260, Miami University, autor correspondente)
Ano2008
Volume46
Fascículo4
Páginas435-445
Data de publicação2008-12-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoGeographical Research (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1745-5863 • E-ISSN: 1745-5871
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1745-5871.2008.00536.x
OpenAlexW2093621251
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas11
Referências citadas29

Several Sub-Saharan African countries have experienced an upsurge of land claims by various ethnic groups whose lands were acquired by both the colonial and the post-colonial State through compulsory acquisition. Ethnicity has been used as the basis of emancipating some ethnic groups from perceived disenfranchisement and impoverishment caused by the State acquiring their land. In some cases such land claims result in violence that threatens the social fabric of these countries. An urban example of such a land claim has been made by the GaDangme Council (GDC) in Ghana. This paper assesses the land claim by GDC and argues that its claim of disenfranchisement is more a perception than reality. The paper also investigates why GDC perceives the Ga ethnic group as impoverished and disenfranchised. It concludes by providing structural and pragmatic ways for solving problems centred on Ga land acquisition by the State. Resolving the Ga case may provide lessons for other countries experiencing similar problems

Agriculture · Archaeology · Colonialism · Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Emancipation · Ethnic group · Geography · Land tenure · Political science · Politics · Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development · Land Rights and Reforms · Law · Urban and Rural Development Challenges