Street-naming project underway in Accra
At least 3,584 streets in the Accra Metropolis have been digitised and assigned names under the street-naming and property-addressing project.
Advertisement
The project is spearheaded by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) with funding from the World Bank, through the Ghana Land Administration Project.
When completed, the system will provide the platform for proper identification of all physical structures; the opportunity for effective revenue mobilisation and collection; and the necessary platform for effective accountability on development in the metropolis.
Background of the project.
During the launch of the National Urban Policy Framework and Action Plan in March 2013, President John Dramani Mahama directed the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development to ensure that streets were named within 18 months.
In November 2013, the President gave an ultimatum to metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs) to complete the street-naming and house-numbering exercises in their respective areas or lose their jobs by September 2014.
The implementation of the exercise is guided by the National Street-Naming and Property-Addressing Policy, and the National Operational Guidelines on Street-Naming and Property-Addressing System.
AMA Address
Briefing the media during an inspection tour of Accra, the Chief Executive Officer of the AMA, Mr Alfred Okoe Vanderpujie, said 22 communities, two per each sub-metro, were consulted during the naming exercise to seek their views on the names to be given to the streets.
“We have involved the chiefs, the business communities, the traders, the home owners and all various interested parties so that we, as AMA, will not generate the names but the names will come from within the communities,” he said
Other Trending Stories
Mr Vanderpuijie mentioned that the assembly had completed piloted signages in five communities for residents to identify the street names that they provided and also seek redress if they had any issues with the names. The communities were James Town, Korle Dudor, Ministries area, Makola and South Industrial Area.
Mr Vanderpujie said a city-wide validation of all street names would be held on February 11, 2014, to exhibit the new names to the general public for their comments.
How the streets will be named.
The AMA boss said the streets would be named after prominent citizens who had made a mark on society through their contributions to national development.
He said some of the streets would also be named after foreign nationals who had also made an impact in the country, adding that “no street would be named after anyone alive.”
He, therefore, denied claims that some individuals had paid some amounts to have some streets named after them.