ASHMA to issue conditional permit to developers

Developers in the Ashaiman Municipality are to be issued with a Conditional Permit from the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) while awaiting the final approval of their permit request.

This is to prevent the tendency of officials and developers condoning and abusing the process while they await the issuance of the final permit.

Mr Albert Boakye Okyere, Ashaiman Municipal Chief Executive, announcing this on Monday said “due to delay in the issuance of building permit, developers and the Assembly Taskforce are taking advantage to abuse the system”.

Mr Okyere stated that the issuance of a Conditional Permit would make developers pay some amount of money to the Assembly instead of allowing some unscrupulous officials to connive with the developers and pocket the money.

He noted that his outfit would pursue a collaborative initiative between ASHMA and the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) aimed at ensuring that property owners had titles to cover their properties.

He further announced that there would be strengthening and restructuring of the Statutory Planning Committee of the Assembly in accordance with the Local Governance Act 936 of 2016.

This, he noted, would enable the Assembly to organize its independent statutory planning committee meetings and study to either review or revoke all building permits issued without consultation and advice especially those issued out during the transition period.

The MCE bemoaned the current state of haphazard development in the Municipality and gave the assurance that the Development Control Taskforce would be strengthened and resourced to execute their duties effectively.

The Assembly, he indicated, would liaise with the TDC to speed up consideration of development permits.

He said ASHMA would collaborate with sister assemblies to lobby the appropriate national institutions to fully grant development planning authority to them as required by the constitution and the Local Government Act.