By Hafsa Obeng
Accra, July 5, GNA – The Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly (KoKMA) has held a stakeholder engagement to enlighten the residents within the municipality on the intended Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) structural plan.
The GAMA is part of the loan agreement signed between the government and the African Development Bank as part of the implementation of the Accra Urban Transport Project.
The project is aimed at guiding the development
and redevelopment of urban areas, towns and peripheries within the GAMA.
Mrs Patience Osei-Nyarko Puorideme, Head of Physical Planning Department, KOKMA, said the Municipality was fortunate to be the one selected for the project based on consultation and data shared, for the efforts to be focused at one centre rather than spreading out the efforts of preparing local plans.
She said the engagement was to share ideas with property owners, family heads and opinion leaders within Osu, Ringway and North Ridge.
“These are all technical issues, but we think that if we do not bring the people who would be affected by this on board so that they understand the thinking behind these proposals, it will not materialize.”
She noted that if all stakeholders were committed to the proposals, within the next 20 years, most of the notable projects would be implemented.
“There are a lot of benefits that can be acquired from this project, but we know they would require a lot of investment and government alone cannot shoulder it, so the idea is that when we get the input from the people, we would fine tune it, then some components of the projects can be picked out of it and further developed.”
She said after coming up with the final design they would engage the larger group of everybody who mattered in the community and share with them their vision for the next 20 years on how they want Osu to look like and the specific things they could do as individuals to contribute towards the realization of the dream.
“There are a lot of challenges within the municipality including flooding, waste management issues, so as part of the plan we envisage to get some identifiable parcels of land within the very dense communities where the Assembly itself or private individuals can collaborate to build waste transfer sites.”
In the short term, within the next one to three years,
these are tangible things we can do out of this process.
Nii Adjei Tawiah, Municipal Chief Executive for the Assembly, said the Assembly was fortunate to be selected for the project as it would lead to a total facelift of the municipality.
He said with the government hopes to create an enabling environment for all and property owners must come on board to play their role.
“Osu is a very old town and properties do not belong to just one person but families with so many stakeholders so striking deals on properties has become very challenging. But it is also a very valuable land and investors would be willing to partner us to get the work done. It is not just the structures but once you start to do the necessary things like proper drainage systems, we would get the support.”
He said the engagement would go a long way to help the Assembly because currently there was a gap since the communities do not understand some
of the works of the Assembly.
“This engagement will get them to understand some of these things better. At least they will go home and discuss and draw closer to the Assembly to help. The whole of the place is prime land and if they agree it would change the face of Accra and change their lives for the better.”
The GAMA project is part of the loan agreement signed between the government and the African Development Bank as part of the implementation of the Accra Urban Transport Project and is aimed at guiding the development and redevelopment of urban areas, towns and their peripheries within the GAMA.
GNA