Flooding crisis rooted in governance failures — LoGSAPP
The Local Government Service Association of Physical Planners (LoGSAPP) has blamed the country’s recurring flood disasters on political interference, weak enforcement of planning laws and inadequate support for institutions responsible for development control.
The association insisted that planners and engineers should not be singled out for criticism whenever floods occur.
Reacting to the recent flooding, the President of LoGSAPP, Gifty Nyarko, said technical professionals at the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) were often unable to effectively enforce planning regulations due to political interference, inadequate logistics and funding gaps.
Political interference
She argued that although the country had laws and technical expertise to regulate physical development, continuous political interference, poor institutional coordination, and failure to adequately resource assemblies had weakened enforcement systems.
That, according to Ms Nyarko, had contributed to the growing problem of unauthorised developments and flooding.
She explained that enforcement against illegal structures was often frustrated by political pressure and interference from influential persons, making it difficult for technical officers to carry out their duties effectively.
Ms Nyarko said under the Land Use and Spatial Planning Act, 2016 (Act 925), development approvals and enforcement decisions were taken collectively through Spatial Planning Committees involving multiple institutions and stakeholders, not individual planners or engineers alone.
“The public must understand that planners do not act alone. The system is institutional and collective, yet when disasters occur, attention is conveniently shifted onto technical officers, while the real structural and political problems are ignored,” she stated.
Flooding crisis
Ms Nyarko maintained that the country's flooding crisis was not due to the absence of laws or professional expertise, but rather the country’s inability to enforce planning regulations consistently and independently.
She identified political interference, uncontrolled urbanisation, weak institutional coordination and lack of government investment in spatial planning systems as major contributors to recurring flood disasters across the country.
She criticised the recently released District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) guidelines, explaining that they failed to give clear priority to spatial planning and development control activities despite their importance in preventing flooding and unauthorised developments.
Ms Nyarko said some MMDAs were unable to organise regular Spatial Planning Committee meetings, carry out inspections or undertake demolition and enforcement exercises because of "chronic underfunding".
She warned that leaving assemblies to rely solely on Internally Generated Funds (IGF) to finance planning and enforcement activities would continue to encourage unauthorised developments, poor land use management and recurring floods.
Appeal
Ms Nyarko, therefore, appealed to the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs to urgently review the DACF allocation formula to provide dedicated funding for spatial planning, local plans, enforcement operations and planning logistics.
She urged the government to shield technical professionals from political intimidation and interference, strengthen Planning and Building Inspectorate Units and support lawful enforcement actions against illegal developments regardless of the status of persons involved.
Ms Nyarko stated that the country could not continue to undermine institutions responsible for planning and expect to build resilient and safe communities.
"It is about political will, strong institutions, enforcement of the law and allowing professionals to work independently in the national interest,” she said.
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