Accra: Governance Expert and Lecturer at the Institute of Local Government Studies, Felix Agyei Amakye, has called for integrated metropolitan governance frameworks to address persistent issues such as flooding, traffic congestion, waste management challenges, and unplanned urban growth across Ghana's major cities.
According to Ghana Web, Amakye made this statement after the Built Environment Professionals Breakfast Roundtable held on June 10, 2026. He emphasized that the challenges facing Ghana's metropolitan regions, including traffic congestion, flooding, waste management, unplanned urban growth, and inadequate infrastructure, necessitate coordinated planning and management across multiple jurisdictions rather than isolated interventions by individual assemblies.
The meeting, which was themed "Greater Metropolitan Area Management in Ghana: Towards Integrated Planning, Governance and Infrastructure Delivery," brought together engineers, architects, planners, surveyors, governance experts, and urban development practitioners. Their goal was to deliberate on practical solutions for managing Ghana's rapidly expanding metropolitan areas, such as Greater Accra, Greater Kumasi, and Greater Sekondi-Takoradi.
Jointly organized by the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE), Ghana Institute of Architects (GIA), Ghana Institute of Planners (GIP), and Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GhIS), the forum highlighted that while decentralization has increased the number of Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs), it has also resulted in fragmented governance structures. These structures often hinder coordinated planning, service delivery, and infrastructure development across contiguous urban areas.
Participants stressed the need for governance systems in Ghana's growing urban centers that transcend administrative boundaries and facilitate collaboration among local authorities, government agencies, traditional authorities, the private sector, civil society organizations, and citizens. They advocated for long-term metropolitan planning, improved land-use management, integrated transportation systems, climate-resilient infrastructure, and stronger enforcement of development regulations to support sustainable urban growth.
The forum further urged the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation (IMCC) to undertake broader stakeholder consultations on proposed local governance reforms, particularly concerning the creation and classification of Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies in relation to emerging metropolitan governance challenges.
At the conclusion of the meeting, participants agreed to develop a Joint Position Paper on Greater Metropolitan Area Management in Ghana. This paper will provide policy recommendations aimed at strengthening metropolitan governance, improving infrastructure delivery, enhancing urban resilience, and supporting sustainable development. They also resolved to establish a collaborative platform to facilitate continued engagement on metropolitan governance and urban development issues.