Settlements
THE METROPOLITAN, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in the country have been tasked to make the proper planning and settlement of their respective areas their topmost priority.
The acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority (LUSPA), Mr. Lawrence Z. Dakurah, made the remarks during a public programme in Kumasi, recently.
According to him, inequitable and haphazard development still remains one of the big challenges confronting the country and it is his fervent hope that the MMDCEs would play leading roles to help address them.
“Hon. Minister, the inequitable and haphazard development of our human settlements in Ghana, be they cities, towns or villages, has been a matter of concern globally and to Ghana in particular.
“I am convinced that over the short period of your stewardship in the respective MMDAs, this phenomenon has already caught your attention and you may be devising strategies to address it”, Mr. Dakurah stated.
He was speaking during the joint inauguration of the District Spatial Planning Committees (DSPCs) and the Technical Sub Committees of the Respective Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Ashanti Region.
According to him, the country’s development would be greatly enhanced if there is fairness and orderliness in the way human settlements in the various communities are carried out.
The Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority has the objective of providing for the sustainable development of land and human settlements through a decentralized planning system, Mr. Zakurah said.
The Authority also seeks to ensure the judicious use of land and enhance the attainment of Ghana’s decentralization programme, and in particular, create an enabling environment for district assemblies to perform their spatial planning and human settlement management functions.
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, who was present at the historic function, charged the committee members to sensitize and educate the citizenry on spatial planning issues.
“Section 47 of the Act enjoins all MMDAs to set up Public Data Rooms in their respective areas. These should store all the necessary information on the MMDAs and be easily accessible to the public”, he stated.
Mr Osei Mensah also called for proper planning of areas in the country to speed up growth.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi