Base maps stakeholders meeting held at Yilo Krobo

Land Use Agencies (LSAs) have started the process of preparing base maps and local plans to direct physical development at Somanya, Nkurakan, Oterkporlu and Klo-Agogo in the Yilo Krobo Municipality in the Eastern Region.

The LSAs include the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority (LUSPA), Licensed Surveyors Association of Ghana (LiSAG), Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands (OASL) and the Survey and Mapping Division of Lands Commission (SMD-LC).

Efforts have been made in the past to streamline land sector agencies in Ghana to deal with increased land tenure risks, limited documentation, haphazard developments, limited public awareness of land matters and general non-compliance with regulations as well as a disconnect between the state and customary land institution in the country.    

In 2021, the Land Sector Agencies were inaugurated with the objective of collaborating with metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to strategically plan for areas where land-based investments were expanding.

This involves identifying fast-growing communities and preparing base maps and local plans to ensure orderly development. 

The Yilo Krobo Municipal Area, the first municipality in Ghana to be piloted under the project, was launched on May 9, 2024 at Somanya.

The first phase of the project covers a land size of 6, 400 acres, focusing on some portions of Somanya, especially the University of Environment and Sustainable Development area, New Somanya and Krobo Hills area. 

Project objectives

The project objectives among others are to ensure that institutional structures responsible for development control (through planning and development permitting) are well equipped with spatial data to perform their functions, to establish a working relationship with relevant stakeholders (especially traditional authorities) and develop an efficient system for effective land administration in the plan area.

As part of strategies and activities towards the achievement of the project, there were engagements with the traditional authorities and land owners, preparation of base map, designing of local plans, public forum/consultation with stakeholders with interest in the plan areas, draft local consultation, approval of local plans, setting out (pillaring) and set-up of a local plan management team.

At the stakeholders meeting held at UESD at Somanya last Tuesday, the Eastern Regional Minister, Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey, stated that the initiative represented a significant step towards enhancing growth, development and sustainability of Somanya, Nkurakan, Klo-Agogo and Oterkporlu. 
She said, “By involving all stakeholders, community members, local leaders, technical experts and government agencies, we ensure that the plans we develop reflect the true needs and aspirations of the people we serve.”

First municipality
The Yilo Krobo Municipal Deputy Coordinating Director, Christopher Teila, said that the assembly was ready to collaborate with stakeholders of the project and stressed the need for the land owners, especially, to also cooperate for the success of the project.
The Eastern Regional Land Officer, Alhaji Issah Mahama, lauded the event organisers and the project coordinators for the effort put into the project and gave an assurance that the Lands Commission would help ensure the success of the programme. 
The Vice-Chancellor of UESD, Prof. Eric Nyarko Sampson, who chaired the programme, expressed the hope that the project would open up the four communities in the Yilo Krobo Municipality in terms of development.