By Christopher Tetteh, GNA
Sunyani, (Bono), Nov. 05, GNA – The Local Government Service Association of Physical Planning (LoGSAPP) has called on the government to recruit more professionals into the service.
It placed emphasis on the recruitment of female professionals to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The Association made the call in a communique issued at the closing session of 2025 Second Annual General Meeting (AGM) and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani, explaining that the AGM and Capacity Building Conference was held in Kumasi.
It was on the theme: “Planning for Resilient, Inclusive, Climate-Sensitive and Disaster-Free Communities for Efficient Infrastructure Development and Service Delivery” and attended by over 200 physical planners, stakeholders, and government officials.
The communique signed by Planners Gifty Nyarko and Samuel Ansong, the LoGSAPP National President and General Secretary respectively, said employing more females within the service would facilitate planning processes that reflected the needs and perspectives of all categories of persons and segments of the society.
It said the AGM focused on strategic, inclusive, and sustainable approaches to spatial planning and infrastructure development at the local level.
The Communique reaffirmed the LOGSAPP commitment to maintain high level planning professionalism, action, and activities towards holistic and sustainable national development.
It implored the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to strictly enforce consistent planning regulations across all jurisdictions to ensure compliance with approved plans and uphold orderly urban growth to prevent unauthorized developments and related disasters.
The Communique also urged the government to sanction MMDAs that delayed permit approvals and failed to prepare spatial development frameworks, structure plans, and local plans.
It advised the Physical planners to maintain professionalism and timely processing of development permits, explaining that client service at Physical Planning Departments ought to be professional, respectful, and responsive to build public trust and accountability.
“The government should support procurement of a base map for the preparation and review of local plans,” stated and assured that “a technical working group shall be established by LoGSAPP to develop an implementation roadmap based on these resolutions”.
It called for active stakeholders’ participation in actions that build resilient, inclusive, and sustainable communities, saying that strengthening consultations and engagements with stakeholders would help find the most appropriate path to improve planning practice in Ghana.
The communique advocated that deliberate efforts ought to be made to eliminate barriers to entry and advancement for women, while creating supportive work environments that encourage women active participation and leadership in the field of planning.
It appealed to the government to support the Association with logistics such as vehicles for monitoring of physical development, and with development partners and donor agencies to support capacity-building, technology transfer, and infrastructure financing at the local level to help resilient infrastructure development systems.
GNA
Edited by Dennis Peprah/Linda Asante Agyei