An Urban Planning Specialist with the World Bank, Mr.
Emmanuel Nkrumah is asking government to establish an institution to
co-ordinate the agencies in-charge of controlling land use, the size and
appearance of new buildings, and their impact on communities across the
country.
“There must be an authority to hold people accountable to whatever code
that exists because it does appear that the government is seen to be a
clear institution that has that responsibility,” he said.
The construction of the mall on the Oxford Street in Osu has become a
source of worry to residents within the city with many worried about the
possibility of increased traffic on the stretch.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast show Mr.
Nkrumah said “the whole thing is that, it is more of which
authority oversees this thing. Is it town and country
planning; is it the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA)?
According to him, because the country does not seem to have an
institution that supervises the construction of buildings in the
country, “translating what is on paper to the ground” becomes a problem
due to “indiscipline.”
“I think that the whole thing is about monitoring and leadership.
Who takes authority in all these things? Who can bring
sanctions? Who can say that because you built this thing at
variance with the code that we have, that building is going to be pulled
down. But you realize that it does not get to be pulled
down,” he said.
Many say the Oxford Street Mall, a 13-storey mall, built by the Ghana
Libyan Arab Holding Limited (GLAHCO) could lead to an increase in
vehicular traffic due to Osu’s narrow streets and the mall’s small car
park.
Even though the mall has parking space for 300 cars, some Ghanaians say
it would not do much to reduce the traffic situation.
He therefore advised corporate entities to incorporate in their
buildings parking lots for their customers instead of focusing mainly on
their business.
“Each business entity should not only think of the business it is going
to do. It should also think of the welfare of the people who
are going to work and those who are going to come in,” he said.
Giving reasons why there is a need to incorporate in the design of any
commercial building a parking lot for both workers and clients; Mr.
Nkrumah said it gives the staff as well as clients a lot of
comfort in terms of security.
He explained that at the new World Bank offices in Accra, visitors as
well as staff don’t park their cars outside the building because the
building incorporated in its design, parking space for staff and
visitors. “This is what we need in urban planning.”
SOURCE[citifmonline.com/Ghana]
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