Power Struggles on Urban Green Spaces in Kumasi, Ghana: Implications for Urban Policy and Planning

Managing urban green spaces effectively to a greater extent relies on the underlying powers (authority and resource capacities) entrusted to relevant stakeholder institutions. This paper assesses how power is regulated among major stakeholder institutions/bodies in the management of green spaces in the Kumasi Metropolis. Relying on the interpretative research philosophy and case study design, sixteen (16) key informants from both public and private institutions engaged in the management of green spaces were purposively selected. In-depth interviews and personal observations were the main data collection techniques employed and these were supplemented with secondary data on legislative provisions on green spaces in Ghana. The findings of the paper revealed that vague legislative provisions regulate green spaces and that these provisions have caused a complexity of ownership of green spaces among three main bodies. There were also fragmentations of power among six agencies/organisations on the management of green spaces and poor resource capacities (funds, personnel and logistics) of the agencies on green spaces. The resultant effects were conflicting managerial roles and poor management of green spaces affecting the sustainability of such spaces. The paper recommends a review of the existing regulatory framework to provide clarity on the ownership of these spaces and restructuring of the institutional frameworks to avoid conflicting roles. There should also be stronger institutional resource base and retention of only core or relevant organisation(s) on the management of green spaces.