A stakeholder consultative meeting on the Land Use and Spatial Planning Amendment Bill (2023) has been held in Accra today.
The object of the meeting forms part of the processes required for a bill to go through to become and Act after having consulted key stakeholders.
Stakeholders were drawn from Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of state as well as Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies across the nation to give inputs into what will become the final document to serve efficiently its intended purpose.
Speaking at the meeting, Hon. O. B. Amoah, Minister of State at the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development (MLGDRD) mentioned that, the Bill is to amend the Land Use and Spatial Planning Act 2016(Act 925) to cure the inconsistencies, inadequacies and ambiguities in some provisions of the Act after six years of implementation.
This he said will enable an effective management of the mandate of the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority (LUSPA) which was set up by Act 925 especially in pursuant to the recent re-alignment of LUSPA from the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) to the MLGDRD.
The Chief Director of the MLGDRD, Mr. Amin Abdul-Rahaman in his address expressed regret on the issues of acquisition of building permits, absence of local plans, area re-zoning, building of unauthorized structures on waterways amongst others as concerns within various communities and local authority areas.
These and others he said have occasioned reforms within the local government sector towards addressing the aspirations of the people.
Mr. Kojo Yeboah, Acting CEO of LUSPA, was optimistic that the Amendment Bill when passed by Parliament, will change the face of the Authority and propel it onto greater heights to continue to deliver on its core mandate.