The Local Government Service Association of Physical Planners (LoGSAPP) has expressed strong opposition to plans to merge the Development Planning Unit and the Physical Planning Department at the local government level, describing the move as ineffective in addressing Ghana’s ongoing urban and land-use planning challenges.
The association’s stance follows the introduction of a new National Decentralisation Policy and Strategy by the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation (IMCCoD), set to be implemented between 2026 and 2029. A key proposal in the policy is the creation of a single “Planning Department” through the integration of the two existing planning entities.
While the policy is yet to be officially outdoored, LoGSAPP stressed that proposals like the merger require broader stakeholder consultations to ensure effective participation—a cornerstone of decentralisation.
In a statement, LoGSAPP acknowledged that the policy seeks to address challenges such as disjointed development plans, weak coordination, and limited spatial components. However, the association argued that these are not the root causes of Ghana’s urban planning problems.
“Urban management challenges in Ghana stem largely from the long-standing neglect of spatial planning, inadequate resourcing, weak enforcement of planning laws, and the marginalisation of trained physical planning professionals—not from the separation of development and physical planning functions,” the statement said.
LoGSAPP explained that development planning at the central administrative level coordinates all departments of a Metropolitan, Municipal, or District Assembly (MMDA), and existing structures such as Municipal Planning and Coordinating Units (MPCUs) and Spatial Planning Committees are already in place to manage coordination challenges.
The association added that effective planning systems are spatially led, with land-use planning, urban design, and development control forming the foundation for socio-economic policies. “In Ghana, planning has become overly skewed toward socio-economic considerations, resulting in development plans that lack spatial clarity and are often impossible to enforce on the ground,” LoGSAPP noted.
LoGSAPP warned that merging the two units without addressing existing challenges would dilute spatial expertise and weaken development control. The association revealed that about 70 per cent of staff in Development Planning Units lack formal planning backgrounds, while spatial planning continues to suffer from inadequate staffing, limited logistics, weak institutional support, and poor resourcing.
“There is no country where development planning and physical planning are separated at the national level but merged at the local level,” the statement said, noting that the two disciplines require fundamentally different skill sets.
As an alternative, LoGSAPP proposed strengthening the planning system through its “three Rs and two Es”—Recruitment, Resourcing, Rebranding, Enforcement, and Education. This includes hiring qualified spatial planners, equipping departments with modern tools and data, restoring public confidence in the planning profession, enforcing planning laws and ethical standards, and building capacity through continuous education and stakeholder engagement.
The association has submitted a detailed position paper to the IMCCoD and urged the government to suspend reforms that could weaken spatial planning. LoGSAPP called for expanded consultations to ensure the National Decentralisation Policy and Strategy supports sustainable urban development and professionalises spatial planning.
It expressed confidence that the IMCCoD would deepen stakeholder engagement and take steps to protect spatial planning as a core component of Ghana’s development agenda.
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