Traditional Chieftaincy in Sotouboua, Togo: A Land Regulation Institution on the Front Line of Urban Planning Challenges

Abstract

This study allowed us to understand the challenges and issues related to the problem of planning and land management in Sotouboua, Central Region, Togo, through the prism of the intervention of traditional chiefs. The nature of urban planning in Togo tends to be based on northern standards and methods but without significant impact. This study draws on recent empirical research that examines the activities of traditional leaders on urban land development. Although land use planning that is based on state control has limited practical impact, urban land tenure is physically structured and planned by urban dwellers who aspire to establish legitimate forms of tenure through customary authorities. Out of 75% of the subdivision operations in 2015 and 92% in 2022 that were carried outside the master plan, traditional chiefs are involved in 64% and 87.5% of land transactions, respectively. Therefore, chiefdom occupies a central place in land transactions. All land transactions are subject to the scrutiny of traditional chiefs, who become intermediaries in land exchanges. Therefore, the participatory approach to urban planning should be reshaped to involve traditional leaders in decision-making and even in conceptualization. The challenges range from the institutional and administrative frameworks of urban planning to land rights and contradictions that are inherent in land use planning.