Tema: Mr Tony Asare, President of the Ghana Institute of Architects (GIA), has called for an independent review of land management in Tema. Mr Asare, a resident of Tema, said the review would promote transparency and accountability and protect public assets.
According to Ghana News Agency, in an open letter to President John Dramani Mahama, Mr Asare emphasized the timeliness of the President's engagement with the Municipal Chief Executive of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) and the leadership of the Tema Development Corporation (TDC). He stated that concerns involving the TMA and TDC required a comprehensive review based on the laws governing public lands and local government administration.
Mr Asare called for an independent and transparent investigation into the management of lands by the TDC and TMA over the years to determine whether their statutory responsibilities had been properly discharged. He noted that such an investigation would help restore public confidence in the administration of state lands and ensure that public assets were managed in the interest of the people.
Mr Asare also raised concerns about reports of the sale or conversion of lands historically designated as public open spaces and corridors reserved for future access roads. He emphasized the need for appropriate protection against unauthorized conversion of public spaces and protected areas, including wetlands, mangroves, Ramsar sites, parks, playgrounds, roads, transport corridors, utility corridors, and green belts.
He urged the President to direct the suspension of transactions involving such lands pending a comprehensive audit and, where necessary, reverse transactions found to have been undertaken unlawfully. He also called for measures to address what he described as an institutional imbalance between the TMA and TDC, particularly regarding the capacity of the local authority to perform its statutory functions.
Mr Asare pointed out that the TMA appeared to lack adequate staff, logistics, and institutional resources to fully exercise its mandate. He highlighted the disparity between the Assembly's uncompleted offices and the completed TDC offices as a matter of public concern. Strengthening the TMA, he said, would enable it to enforce planning regulations, protect public interests, and perform its statutory responsibilities effectively.
He urged the President to direct a review of the permitting regime in Tema to address concerns about duplicative processes and multiple payments by developers to different institutions. Mr Asare noted that developers had complained about having to navigate requirements from both the TDC and TMA for approvals and pay multiple fees, which increased development costs, created inefficiencies, and could discourage compliant development.
He called for a clear, legally grounded delineation of responsibilities among the TMA, TDC, and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), given Tema's importance as an industrial, commercial, and port hub. He said a coordinated framework that preserved the statutory authority of the TMA while promoting collaboration among the institutions would contribute to a more orderly, competitive, and resilient Tema.
Mr Asare concluded by expressing appreciation to the President for engaging key stakeholders on the issues, emphasizing that Tema played a critical role in Ghana's economy and deserved transparent, lawful, and efficient governance.