By: Michael Kofi Kenetey
The Eastern Regional Minister, Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey has mentioned that accurate base maps and well-developed local plans for communities are critical tools for informed decisions, appropriate resource allocation and help promote sustainable urban development in Ghana
Mrs. Awatey was speaking at the University of Environment and Sustainable Development, UESD, Somanya in the Yilo Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region during a Stakeholders Meeting organized by the Yilo Krobo Municipal Assembly in collaboration with the Land Sector Agencies on the prepared base map and local plans for four Communities in the Yilo Krobo Municipality.
The Eastern Regional Minister, addressing stakeholders reiterated that involving stakeholders such as community members, local leaders, technical experts and government agencies will ensure that plans will be developed to reflect the true needs and aspirations of the people.
The Deputy Chief Executive Officer, CEO of Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority, Chapman Owusu Sekyere noted that it is the responsibility of his outfit to help prepare base maps and spatial plans of communities to guide the orderly development of various communities, hence their decision to engage stakeholders to disseminate the outcome of their report.
The President of Licensed Surveyors Association of Ghana, Ing. Samuel Larbi Darko noted that the project piloted in the Yilo Krobo Municipality will be replicated across the country.
He called on the government to support them financially for them to be able to replicate the project nationwide to promote orderly development.
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development, Professor Eric Nyarko-Sampson hinted that he is optimistic that the project will bring the way forward to the orderly development of Somanya including the University and its environs. He pledged the University’s support for such projects that will aid in the development of Yilo Krobo where the University is situated.
The Land Sector Agencies including the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority, LUSPA, Licensed Surveyors Association of Ghana, LiSAG, Office of Stool Lands, and the Survey and Mapping Division of the Lands Commission was inaugurated in 2021 with the objective of collaborating with the MMDAs in the country to strategically plan for areas where land-based investments are fast expanding.
These involve identifying fast-growing communities and preparing base maps and local plans to ensure orderliness in development. The Yilo Krobo is the first municipality to be piloted for under the project, which was launched last year May.
The agencies have then initiated the process of preparing base maps and local plans to direct physical development within four communities in the Yilo Krobo Municipality namely Somanya, Nkurakan, Oterkporlu and Klo-Agogo. This called for the need to engage all stakeholders in these communities to inform them about the outcome of the project to ensure proper development in the various communities.
