Adapting Land Administration to the Institutional Framework of Customary Tenure:

Historical experience in many Sub-Saharan African countries demonstrates that an alternative approach to conventional land administration methods is required to appropriately secure tenure and administer land rights in customary areas. This book is about dealing with the dynamics of customary tenure and with land governance and institutional capacity issues necessary to implement land administration at the local level. Methods for implementing land administration systems at the local level have been presented in a three-phased tenure model. The author concludes that customary tenure institutions have their own mechanisms for adapting to societal change, and a desirable solution would therefore be to adapt land administration to the institutional framework of customary tenure. The information in this book will be essential for academic work in land administration in developing countries. It will prove a useful reference for policy makers and practitioners in the land administration field

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Behaviour-based facilities energy management framework for higher education students' residence in Ghana

Adopting desirable energy-related behaviours in built facilities have greater potential towards reducing the demand for energy and energy savings. Promoting desirable energy behaviour can be achieved through understanding of users’ behaviour and its determinants to develop appropriate energy saving programmes. However, research on facilities users’ behaviour and facilities energy management is limited within the domain of facilities management, especially in the higher education environment. The main question addressed in this study is: how can users’ behaviour be incorporated into facilities energy management? This study aims to explore the energy use behaviour of students living in higher education residential facilities. The objectives were to determine the factors that influence residential students’ energy use behaviour from the students’ and managers’ perspectives respectively; to identify energy management practices implemented in the residential facilities; and to develop a behaviour-based facilities energy management framework. To achieve these objectives, the study adopted a multi models approach to mixed methods research. The study was situated within pragmatist paradigm with emphasis on qualitative approach. Implementation of energy management practices and energy use behaviour of students from six higher education institutions in Ghana were investigated using survey, semi-structured interview and focus group. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the survey data whilst interview and focus group data were analysed using content analysis with MAXQDA 12 qualitative analysis software. Analysis of both the survey and the interview data revealed that, energy management practices were least implemented in all the institutions. In addition, the results indicate that there is much room for improvement in students’ energy saving behaviour. Furthermore, the analysis revealed four key factors that influence students’ energy use behaviour from the managers’ perspective: institutional, economic, perceived behavioural control and attitude. From the students’ perspective, five key factors were found to influence students’ energy use behaviour across all the four behaviours studied: attitude, social, habit, physical and economic factors. The study developed and validated behaviour-based facilities energy management framework (BFEM) to manage energy in students’ residential facilities. This study contributes to knowledge by integrating individuals’ behaviour, energy management and facilities management toward energy savings

Customary Tenure Institutions and Good Governance

Although customary tenure institutions come under considerable strain and their functions tend to be weakened by the existence of a statutory institutional framework, many people in peri-urban areas continue to rely on customary tenure arrangements for land delivery. These institutions maintain their traditional power and social responsibility to allocate the rights to use land, resolve conflicts and carry out overall management of customary land. Yet, little attention has been given to whether or not the activities of these indigenous institutions meet good governance objectives in land administration. This paper analyzes key governance issues within customary land delivery and presents a framework for assessing customary tenure institutions for peri-urban land governance. The framework which is constructed on five governance dimensions is built on an empirical study in three peri-urban customary areas in Ghana and literature from other areas. We conclude that while indicators of other qualities may be also important, measures of efficiency and effectiveness in land delivery processes, equity in distribution and allocation of land resources, accountability of stewardship, participation of community members in land management activities and decision-making, transparency and access to information are essential to any complete assessment of good governance in customary land delivery processes

Assessing the Role of Housing Microfinance in the Low-income Housing Market in Ghana

Housing Microfinance (HMF) is becoming an increasingly attractive and innovative source of low-income housing finance for Low-income households (LIHs) in developing countries to meet their housing needs. Many countries in the developing world such as India, Bangladesh among others are developing housing finance policies that recognised the role and importance of such innovative mechanisms. However, in the case of Ghana, despite the over 2,234 Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) spread over the country, few are into lending for housing activities. This paper assessed the role of HMF in the low-income housing market. The paper relied on extant literature and realised that HMF could play a fundamental role in solving the low-income housing challenge faced by many LIHs in Ghana. The paper concludes that HMF could help LIHs to regularise land tenure, acquire building materials and tools, acquire building designs and skills development, housing infrastructure delivery, finance new and home improvements, improve low-income housing governance and encourage community partnerships and development. The paper made some valuable suggestions to overcome the barriers and challenges associated with HMF delivery in Ghana

SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF LAND DISPUTES IN THE ASHANTI REGION

Context and Background: Land is an important resource for human survival as well as that of other living organisms. Despite its importance, there are many problems that come with its management. There are increasing controversies and disputes over the ownership, access, and use of land. This is due to the increase in land demand, owing to factors such as population growth, urbanization, and food security. Land disputes in the Ashanti Region have drastically escalated recently as a result of these factors. Many land parcels have been left underdeveloped as a result of these disputes.Goal and Objectives:This study investigates land dispute cases from 2016 to 2021 in the Ashanti Region using survey records of land dispute cases from the Ashanti Regional Lands Commission.Methodology:The study reviewed 203 land dispute case files from the Lands Commission to perform spatial analysis in identifying the hotspot zones of land disputes in the area of study. Ripley’s K-function was used to test the null hypothesis of complete spatial randomisation and Moran’s I was used to measure the spatial autocorrelation of the land dispute incidences. A kernel density map was used to show the intensity of recorded disputes in the hotspot zones.Results:It was evident from the study that most of the land dispute cases were recorded in and around the central part of the study area. A map depicting the spatial extent and hotspot zones of the land dispute cases was developed to provide contextual background for policy makers, and researchers. Based on the Moran Scatterplots, Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA) cluster maps were used to identify hotspot zones in the study area. A total of 12 localities were identified as hotspot zones in the study area. The incidence of land disputes was mostly in the peri-urban areas with proximity to the Central Business District. Further research is recommended to probe into factors that influence a locality or town’s vulnerability to land

Energy Management in Public Higher Education Institutions in Ghana

This paper investigates the implementation of energy management key practices in six public higher education institutions in Ghana in order to identify the existence of potential to save energy. Data for this research was obtained through questionnaire based on an energy management assessment measurement tool involving heads of estates/property and maintenance departments of the studied institutions. Total of 45 key practices adapted from previous studies has been used to assess the implementation of energy management in the respective institutions in Ghana. The study revealed that implementation of energy management key practices was generally low across all the phases. Six key practices - informing of the reasons/need for energy management, motivation, conducting economic analyses, tracking and targeting energy usage and key energy use groups, and reviewing building drawings and equipment specification - were not implementad by any institution. The key practices that were implemented quite well in the planning, implementation and monitoring phase respectively were: ‘gaining top management commitment’ and ‘providing sufficient tools’; improving sufficiency of electrical appliances’; and ‘advising on energy matters’. The findings from the study has shown that energy management is an untapped potential to reduce electricity cost in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Ghana. Keywords: Energy, energy management; energy management key practices; higher education institutions, Ghana

Effect of HIV infection on TB treatment outcomes and time to mortality in two urban hospitals in Ghana-a retrospective cohort study

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is currently causing more deaths than Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) globally. Ghana as one of the 30 high burden TB/HIV countries has a high annual TB case-fatality rate of 10%. The study sought to assess the effect of HIV infection on TB treatment outcomes and assess the time to mortality after treatment onset. Methods: we conducted a review of treatment files of TB patients who were treated from January 2013 to December 2015 in two urban hospitals in the Accra Metropolis. Modified Poisson regression analysis was used to measure the association between HIV infection and TB treatment outcomes. Kaplan-Meier survival estimates were used to plot survival curves. Results: seventy-seven percent (83/107) of HIV infected individuals had successful treatment, compared to 91.2% (382/419) treatment success among HIV non-infected individuals. The proportion of HIV-positive individuals who died was 21.5% (23/107) whilst that of HIV-negative individuals was 5.5% (23/419). Being HIV-positive increased the risk of adverse outcome relative to successful outcome by a factor of 2.89(95% CI 1.76-4.74). The total number of deaths recorded within the treatment period was 46; of which 29(63%) occurred within the first two months of TB treatment. The highest mortality rate observed was among HIV infected persons (38.6/1000 person months). Of the 107 TB/HIV co-infected patients, 4(3.7%) initiated ART during TB treatment. Conclusion: the uptake of ART in co-infected individuals in this study was very low. Measures should be put in place to improve ART coverage among persons with TB/HIV co-infection to help reduce mortality

“We are Seen but not Recognized”; Disability Stigma and Disabled People’s Exclusion from Community Activities: The Case of Disabled People in a Traditional Community in Ghana

Society has a way of categorising and assigning expectations to its members. There are also rules regarding the norms and processes of dealing with problems of daily life. If a rule is broken during interactions between individuals in society resulting in abnormal situation, it can be labelled as stigma. When people perceive individuals as possessing socially unacceptable attributes, they assign negative qualities to the person and results in devaluation of the individual. Data was collected from disabled people and their leaders in the Kumasi Metro who were registered with the Department of Social Welfare. A qualitative study was conducted in which Interview and Focus Group Discussions were employed to collect data from respondents.  Purposive sampling technique was adopted to select 35 respondents for the study. After each data collection activity the recorded audio tapes and field notes taken during the interview were translated into English and later word processed. Data editing and categorisation was done manually based on the research objective. The study found that disability is stigmatised as a result of the reaction of society towards individuals who have impairments, disabled people have been given names based on their disability, disabled people have also lost the opportunity to inherit family wealth and to be installed as chiefs, and are unable to represent their communities and families at social functions. It is recommended that there should be effective public education on disability and the scientific causes of the condition.  Keywords: Stigma, Community-exclusion, Ghana, Disability, Society, Culture and Labelin