NATIONAL URBAN POLICY IN THE OFFING
NATIONAL URBAN POLICY IN THE OFFING July 28, 2010
BY P. A. WEDAM
ISD-BOLGATANGA MUNICIPAL
A workshop aimed at soliciting views and suggestions from stakeholders in the Upper East region for incorporation into the Draft National Urban Policy has taken place at Bolgatanga.
Participants included traditional rulers, religious bodies, persons living with disabilities, planning officers from the districts and other representatives from decentralised departments. The workshop was organised by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.
A leading team member from the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research [ISSER] of the University of Ghana, Professor Paul Yankson noted in a presentation that urbanisation is irreversible as far as populations keep increasing and called for appropriate planning on the part of government to meet especially the housing needs of urban populations.
Professor Yankson observed that in 1921, Ghana’s estimated population of 2,298,000 had only 7.8 per cent of it living in urban areas while as much as 51.0 per cent of Ghanaians now live in urban areas when the population rose to about 23,800,000 as at 2009. He said urbanisation comes with prospects for economic and social development though challenges come along with this development.
He said records indicate that in the Upper East region for instance, only 3.9 per cent of the population lived in the region’s urban areas around the 1960s but this rose to 15.7 per cent around the year 2000.
The Professor therefore held that the draft national urban policy will help achieve the goal of sustainable development of human settlements. According to him, no country in the industrial age can attain significant development without urbanisation. He observed that successive governments have had fragmented and inconsistent interventions for urban growth while there has been a north-south divide in terms of level of urbanisation.
To rectify this, government must put in place a consistent framework and guide lines for municipal and district assemblies, the private sector and civil society in the wake of urbanisation. If however unplanned urban development becomes the order of the day, there will be the consequence of rising poverty, slum development, rising cost of land and general state of limited opportunities in the cities.
Professor Yankson said after all the regional validation workshops, a national urban policy will be given legal backing from parliament and this should translate into the establishment of a hierarchy of urban centres for defined purposes, enhanced accountable urban governance and improved urban services and infrastructure.
Upper East regional minister, Mr. Mark Owen Woyongo who opened the workshop said a comprehensive national urban policy for Ghana is long overdue stressing that cities and towns can become liabilities and centres for crimes, environmental hazards and mass unemployment if they are built as result of spontaneous, unplanned and uncontrollable economic activities.
Mr. Woyongo added that urban development is a cross-sectional activity and therefore needs the coordination and collaboration of all stakeholders. He entreated all participants to take ownership of discussions leading to the adoption of the national urban policy document so that it does not become alien to them during implementation.
Participants during open forum advocated for disability-friendly buildings and the installation of voice devices into traffic lighting systems to guide the blind. Meanwhile others blamed district assemblies for failing to implement land use laws and regulations.
BY P. A. WEDAM
ISD-BOLGATANGA MUNICIPAL
A workshop aimed at soliciting views and suggestions from stakeholders in the Upper East region for incorporation into the Draft National Urban Policy has taken place at Bolgatanga.
Participants included traditional rulers, religious bodies, persons living with disabilities, planning officers from the districts and other representatives from decentralised departments. The workshop was organised by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.
A leading team member from the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research [ISSER] of the University of Ghana, Professor Paul Yankson noted in a presentation that urbanisation is irreversible as far as populations keep increasing and called for appropriate planning on the part of government to meet especially the housing needs of urban populations.
Professor Yankson observed that in 1921, Ghana’s estimated population of 2,298,000 had only 7.8 per cent of it living in urban areas while as much as 51.0 per cent of Ghanaians now live in urban areas when the population rose to about 23,800,000 as at 2009. He said urbanisation comes with prospects for economic and social development though challenges come along with this development.
He said records indicate that in the Upper East region for instance, only 3.9 per cent of the population lived in the region’s urban areas around the 1960s but this rose to 15.7 per cent around the year 2000.
The Professor therefore held that the draft national urban policy will help achieve the goal of sustainable development of human settlements. According to him, no country in the industrial age can attain significant development without urbanisation. He observed that successive governments have had fragmented and inconsistent interventions for urban growth while there has been a north-south divide in terms of level of urbanisation.
To rectify this, government must put in place a consistent framework and guide lines for municipal and district assemblies, the private sector and civil society in the wake of urbanisation. If however unplanned urban development becomes the order of the day, there will be the consequence of rising poverty, slum development, rising cost of land and general state of limited opportunities in the cities.
Professor Yankson said after all the regional validation workshops, a national urban policy will be given legal backing from parliament and this should translate into the establishment of a hierarchy of urban centres for defined purposes, enhanced accountable urban governance and improved urban services and infrastructure.
Upper East regional minister, Mr. Mark Owen Woyongo who opened the workshop said a comprehensive national urban policy for Ghana is long overdue stressing that cities and towns can become liabilities and centres for crimes, environmental hazards and mass unemployment if they are built as result of spontaneous, unplanned and uncontrollable economic activities.
Mr. Woyongo added that urban development is a cross-sectional activity and therefore needs the coordination and collaboration of all stakeholders. He entreated all participants to take ownership of discussions leading to the adoption of the national urban policy document so that it does not become alien to them during implementation.
Participants during open forum advocated for disability-friendly buildings and the installation of voice devices into traffic lighting systems to guide the blind. Meanwhile others blamed district assemblies for failing to implement land use laws and regulations.
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