Built Environment Professionals have urged urgent reforms to Ghana’s metropolitan governance systems to tackle pressing urban challenges, including infrastructure delivery, transportation, sanitation, flooding, and land-use management.
The call was made at the Built Environment Professionals Breakfast Roundtable on “Greater Metropolitan Area Management in Ghana: Towards Integrated Planning, Governance and Infrastructure Delivery,” jointly organised by the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE), Ghana Institute of Architects (GIA), Ghana Institute of Planning (GIP), and Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GhIS).
The forum brought together engineers, architects, planners, surveyors, governance experts, and urban development practitioners to explore practical solutions for managing rapidly growing metropolitan areas, including Greater Accra, Greater Kumasi, and Greater Sekondi-Takoradi.
Key discussions highlighted that while decentralisation has increased the number of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), it has also created fragmented governance structures that hinder coordinated planning, infrastructure development, and service delivery.
Delivering the keynote, Mr. Felix Agyei Amakye, Governance Expert and Lecturer at the Institute of Local Government Studies, stressed the need for integrated metropolitan governance frameworks to coordinate planning, housing, transportation, sanitation, and environmental management across multiple jurisdictions.
Participants emphasised that Ghana’s urban centres require governance systems that transcend administrative boundaries and promote collaboration among local authorities, government agencies, traditional leaders, the private sector, civil society, and citizens. They also called for long-term metropolitan planning, climate-resilient infrastructure, integrated transport systems, improved land-use management, and stronger enforcement of development regulations.
The forum concluded with an agreement to develop a Joint Position Paper on Greater Metropolitan Area Management, outlining policy recommendations to strengthen metropolitan governance, enhance infrastructure delivery, improve urban resilience, and support sustainable development. The participating institutions also committed to creating a collaborative platform to maintain ongoing engagement on urban development issues.
Through these initiatives, GhIE and its partner institutions reaffirm their commitment to promoting integrated planning, coordinated metropolitan management, and sustainable urban development in Ghana.
