President Akufo-Addo commits support to Institute of Planners

President Akufo-Addo has pledged commitment to provide the enabling environment to the Ghana Institute of Planners to enhance its work.

He said the government doors were opened for collaboration and encouraged the Institute to engage constructively to promote national development.

This was in a speech read on behalf of the President on Friday at the 48th Annual General conference, which also marked the 50th anniversary of the Institute in Accra.

The event is on the theme: "Ghana Institute of Planners at 50: Planning for Ghana Beyond Aid".

The Ghana Beyond Aid is a process that will make the country increasingly less dependent on foreign capital, technology and influence.

He said development planning was a multifaceted and cross-cutting approach that shaped the development goals and priorities of the country.

This, the President explained, involved a well-researched plan that prioritised and synchronised activities constrained by scarce resources.

The legal framework for planning in the country is guided by Article 86 and 87 of the 1992 Constitution, Acts 479 and 480 of 1994, Act 936 of 2016, and Legislative Instrument (LI) 2232.

He expressed concern that the administrative and institutional structures to ensure efficient and smooth planning activities had not always been followed, which created a disconnection between what was expected by law and what was actually on the ground.

President Akufo-Addo stated that the achievement of the 2030 agenda with its Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union agenda 2063 depended on the implementation of properly designed, environmentally friendly and sustainable plans that have been carefully crafted.

He said the final draft of the LI to operationalize the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority Act 216 (Act 925) was submitted to Parliament in May, 2019 and expected to be passed soon for full implementation.

The Act will provide sustainable development of land and human settlements through a decentralised planning system and ensures judicious use of land.

This is to improve the quality of life, promote health and safety in respect of human settlements.

He charged the Institute to play their role effectively in preparing development plans for the country.

Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation said it was imperative for the country to focus on the manufacturing sector to create the needed employment to raise the living standards of the citizenry.

He said the country needed to develop its abilities to find local solutions to our problems than seeking solutions from outside sources with products derived from our natural resources.

"Our country will be determined not by what we have but by what we know and what we can do. The Ministry will lead the effort to change the narrative in a modern economy of knowledge-based, and science and technology driven," he said.

The Professor said the Ministry had played its role in achieving the goals of the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda by eradicating illegal small scale mining, which was a major threat to the environment.

He said the Ministry had initiated the Sustainable Community Mining project, which had encouraged in the exploration of natural resources to increase the incomes of a wide spectrum of the rural folks.

Mr Alfred Kwasi Opoku, the President of GIP, said the Institute remained resolute in its commitment to support government to implement the plans and programmes that would bring improve livelihoods to Ghanaians.

About 1.5 million people arrived in Accra daily and about 10 per cent do not go back the same day. This should be factored in the country's planning agenda.

He called for the need to build the capacities planners at the various assemblies to improve performance in the field.

Mr Opoku assured of the Institute's commitment to support government in implementing the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda as it celebrates the 50th anniversary.