LoGSAPP kicks against merging Development and Physical Planning Units

The Local Government Service Association of Physical Planners (LoGSAPP) has opposed proposals to merge the Development Planning Unit and the Physical Planning Department at the local government level, describing the move as ineffective in addressing Ghana’s persistent urban and land-use planning challenges.

The association’s position follows the initiation of a new National Decentralisation Policy and Strategy by the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation (IMCCoD), scheduled for implementation between 2026 and 2029.

One of the key proposals outlined in the policy document is the establishment of a single “Planning Department” through the integration of the two existing planning entities, which seeks to consolidate their functions under one administrative structure.

The proposed merger aims to streamline operations, improve coordination, and enhance efficiency in the planning process at both the national and local levels.

Although the policy document is yet to be officially outdoored, LoGSAPP says several of its proposals, including the planned merger, require broader stakeholder consultations to ensure effective participation, which is a cornerstone of decentralisation.

As an alternative, the association has proposed strengthening the planning system through what it described as “three Rs and two Es”: Recruitment, Resourcing, Rebranding, Enforcement and Education to boost and restore confidence in the planning profession.

In a statement issued by its National Executives, LoGSAPP acknowledged that the policy seeks to address challenges such as disjointed development plans, weak coordination, and limited spatial components in development planning.

It, however, maintained that these issues do not constitute the fundamental or underlying causes of Ghana’s urban planning challenges, stressing that the problems are far deeper and more systemic in nature.

“There is no country where development planning and physical planning are separated at the national level but merged at the local level,” the statement said, adding that the two disciplines have fundamentally different skill sets that are not interchangeable”, the statement indicated.

LoGSAPP argued that urban management challenges in Ghana stem largely from the long-standing neglect of spatial planning, inadequate resourcing, weak enforcement of planning laws, and the marginalisation of trained physical planning professionals, not from the separation of development and physical planning functions.

“In Ghana, planning has become overly skewed toward socio-economic considerations, resulting in development plans that lack spatial clarity and are often impossible to enforce on the ground,” the statement added.

LoGSAPP cautioned that proceeding with the merger under these conditions is not in line with international best practices and could further marginalise spatial planning and worsen problems such as uncontrolled development, flooding, traffic congestion, environmental degradation and public safety risks and urged IMCCoD to deepen engagements to protect and professionalise spatial planning as the backbone of Ghana’s development agenda.

“There is no country where development planning and physical planning are separated at the national level, but merged at the local level because the two disciplines have fundamentally different skill sets that are not interchangeable".

The association has since presented a detailed position paper to the IMCCoD, urging government and policymakers to suspend reforms that might weaken spatial planning.