During my first evening in Accra I happened to meet the spokesman of the principal Stool (chief) of Nungua.From a conversation (for which I handily had a Ga to English translator) I learnt that the indigenous families’ land rights are stronger than in Nigeria.
The families who formed Nungua’s community came from Israel close to 2000 years ago (according to the spokesman)
Since they took over the lands they currently occupy they have been making the key decisions about the area and the Stool’s ownership rights have been respected by both colonial and post colonial administrations. Any developer wishing to build a mall, a factory or anything else on Stool’s land sends agents to negotiate the cost of leasing the land for a particular period. In such deals the government only acts as the legalising party without much right to influence them.
Below: image revealing the traditional authorities as the dominant decision-makers: ‘stop work by Nungua Traditional Council.’
Below: one of the influential families’ houses with a large congregation space at ground floor.
Below: Accra -Tema road, much quieter and more ordered than a road of similar level in Lagos.
Below : traditional compound consisting of 10 family units
no.balsa 