EMERGING TRENDS IN LAND MARKET AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR PHYSICAL PLANNING IN THE WA MUNICIPALITY

Abstract

The role of physical planning in the socio-economic development of humans is now more crucial due to the continuous increase in population and urbanization. The successful implementation of most government policies require the use of land, which is fixed in supply. There is therefore the need to employ judicious strategies, in order to reconcile competing claims through physical planning. This study therefore ascertains the emerging trends in land market and their impact on physical planning in the Wa Municipality. The targeted groups for the study included, Trustees, Beneficiaries, Wa Municipal Physical Planning Officer, and heads of Lands Commission and Customary Lands Secretariat. The study used interviews and observation to gather both quantitative and qualitative data and analysed the quantitative data using SPSS and used the thematic approach for the qualitative data. The findings of the study showed that land market has evolved from being a free gift with only customary token of kola, schnapps and fowls to a keenly contested commodity. The management of land has moved from being under the control of Tindaamba to a family ownership which implies multitudes of people with allodial rights to land in the Municipality. The study revealed multiple land sales, conflicting ownership claims, boundary disputes, and poor institutional collaboration as some of the inherent challenges in land market in the Municipality. These identified challenges of land market hinder the efforts of physical planning. It makes it difficult to plan lands under litigation and control development. The study recommends enforcement of land laws on documentation; sensitization of Trustees and Beneficiaries on land transactions; and strengthening institutional collaboration as ways to improve land market in the Municipality.