Tuesday 23 -Friday 26 July, 2024: The Office of the Head of the Local Government Service (OHLGS) in a pilot training, has sensitised selected Metropolitan, Municipal District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Greater Accra Region on its revised Physical Planning Department Operational and Procedure Manual.
The four-day programme, which was held in the Ledzokuku Municipal and the Shai Osu District Assemblies, was for participants to discuss the various modules in the already existing Operational and Procedure Manual and to share best practices to enhance its full operationalisation in the various MMDAs across the country.
The sensitization programme is a collaboration between the OHLGS, the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority (LUSPA), and the Department of Parks and Garden with funding from the Ghana Secondary Cities Support Programmes (GSCSP).
The Director of Human Resource at the OHLGS, Mr. Peter Essiem Asante, who delivered a speech on behalf of the Head of Service, Ing. Dr. Nana Ato Arthur, said the programme was organised to seek the inputs of the selected MMDAs and incorporate them in the Manual on the standardized sequence of seeking land use and spatial planning services across MMDAs in the country, identify the gaps that impede the smooth discharge of the duties and adopt possible measures to address them.
He mentioned that the selected MMDAs for the pilot training were to gain first-hand knowledge about the revised Operational and Procedure Manual and urged them to fully participate, comprehend and contribute towards enriching the Manual to meet the required standards of the LGS.
He expressed the hope that the programme would be a success.
The facilitators and Resource Persons who prepared the modules for the Manual to ensure its success in the Service were drawn from the OHLGS, the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority (LUSPA), and the Department of Parks and Garden.
They guided participants through the modules in the Manual on topics such as the procedure for development permit, procedure for the preparation structure and local plans, procedure for street naming and property addressing, Procedure for Establishing and Management of roads Median /traffic Island Vegetation, among others.
The Municipal Chief Executive of the Ledzokuku Municipal, Mr. Mordecai Quarshie and the District Chief Executive of the Shai Osu District, Hon. Fred Offei, both expressed appreciation to the Resource Persons who contributed to the drafting of the Manual.
They assured the team of the readiness and commitment of their outfits to carefully study the Manual and make significant contributions towards its development as well as discharge their mandate in accordance with the Manual.
The Technical Advisor on the GSCSP at the OHLGS, Mrs. Lena Otoo, in a closing remark, commended participants for their contribution towards the training and urged them to start putting the knowledge gained into practice in their respective MMDAs and also share feedbacks to enrich the manual.