Features
Understanding Ghana’s Land Use and Planning Laws: AGuide to Zoning, Building Permits, and Environmental Regulations.
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“When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” ~ Aldo Leopold
- Introduction
Ghana has a rich and diverse landscape, with varied topography, climate, and natural resources. To ensure sustainable development and protect the environment, the country has enacted a range of laws and regulations governing land use and planning.
In Ghana, land use and planning laws are primarily governed by the Land Use and Spatial Planning Act, 2016 (Act 925), which repealed and replaced the Town and Country Planning Act, 1960 (Act 64) under the auspices of the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority (LUSPA), mandated to ensure the sustainable development of land and human settlements through a decentralized planning system amongst others. They are to ensure that, the District Assemblies in collaboration with the development institutions perform site and service programs for the purpose of development
This article will provide anoverview of the laws that regulate land use and planning in Ghana, including land ownership, zoning regulations, building permits, and environmental impact regulations.
- Legal Framework
Ghana has laws and regulations governing land use and planning, primarily the Land Use and Spatial Planning Act, 2016 (Act 925), Zoning and Land Use Regulations, 2019 (LI 2384), the National Building Regulations, 1996 and the Local Government Act, 2016.
These laws cover issues such as land ownership, zoning regulations, building permits, and environmental impact assessments. These laws also aim to ensure that development activities in Ghana are conducted in a safe, sustainable, and environmentally friendly manner.
In summary, while ACT 925 provides a comprehensive legal framework for regulating and managing land use and planning in Ghana, the Zoning and Land Use Regulations, 2019 (LI 2384) provides detailed guidelines for preparing and implementing zoning plans in Ghana.
- Land Ownership in Ghana
In Ghana, land ownership is regulated by the Land Act 2020 (ACT 1036), which recognizes two types of land: public land and private land. Public land is owned by the state and can be used for public purposes, such as schools, hospitals, and government buildings. Private land, on the other hand, is owned by individuals or organisations and can be used for residential, commercial, or industrial purposes.
Land ownership is a critical aspect of land use and planning in Ghana. The complex system of customary and statutory law governing land ownership in Ghana has significant implications for land use and planning, as it determines who has the right to use and develop land in particular areas.
The Land Act recognizes several types of land ownership, including customary, public, and state land. This has implications for land use and planning, as different types of land ownership may be subject to different regulations and restrictions.
- Zoning
Physical planning units under Metropolitan/Municipal/District Assemblies (MMDAs) use zoning as a tool to specify the appropriate use and kind of development for and on a parcel of land. Zoning establishes the permitted and prohibited uses and developments on a piece of property within a zone, defining the land’s use category.
Ghana’s zoning system varies depending on the specific planning authority responsible for a particular area. However, generally, there are 5 main zoning classifications in Ghana. These are:
- Residential Zone: This zone is designated for residential purposes, and it may include different sub-zones such as single-family residential, multi-family residential, or mixed-use residential.
- Commercial Zone: This zone is designated for commercial activities, including offices, retail stores, restaurants, and other commercial uses.
- Industrial Zone: This zone is designated for industrial activities, including manufacturing plants, warehouses, and other industrial uses.
- Institutional Zone: This zone is designated for public and institutional uses, including schools, hospitals, and other public facilities.
- Special Development Zone: This zone is designated for special developments like the Marine Drive Project at La – Accra. It also contains areas with Historical and Architectural value.
Zoning classifications may also be subject to change over time as the needs of an area change or as new development opportunities arise.
The green belts in Accra would typically fall under the “Open Spaces and Recreational Areas” zone which is a subset of the Special Development zoning scheme. This zone is typically designated for parks, playgrounds, sports facilities, and other open spaces that are used for recreational purposes. Green belts, such as the Achimota Forest Reserve and the Legon Botanical Gardens, would fall under this zone as they provide opportunities for recreation and leisure activities. The Open Spaces and Recreational Areas zone is an important component of the zoning scheme, as it helps to promote healthy and active lifestyles, enhance the quality of life for residents, and provide important ecosystem services, such as regulating the local climate and maintaining biodiversity.
MMDAs deal with assessments of the zoning status of lands and make proposalsfor re-zoning where necessary. Where the proposed development does not conform to the approved use or zoning scheme, developers may apply for a change of use or rezoning.
Land use plans are prepared to guide physical development over a period of time. During the implementation of the plan, a variety of circumstances can lead to a need to revise the plan to reflect changing function or activity on the land, the forces of the market, or improving standards for a variety of land users. This leads to Rezoning which simply means the process of assigning land or property to a different category of restrictions on use and development.For example: from residential use to commercial use and vice versa.
- Building Permits
To ensure that buildings are constructed safely,Ghana requires building permits for all construction activities. Building permits are issued by the local government authority and require that construction plans be reviewed for compliance with building codes, zoning regulations, and environmental laws.
The Local Government Act, 1993 (Act 462) stipulates in Section 49 that “No physical development shall be carried out in a district without prior approval in the form of written permission granted by the District Planning Authority”. The law further requires that “every person shall, before constructing a building or other structure or undertaking any work, obtain a permit from the District Planning Authority which shall contain such conditions as the District Planning Authority may consider necessary – Act 462, Section 64 (1).
Development and Building permit is the main instrument for controlling or managing physical development. Development permit in this context refers to permits issued in relation to planning and building applications.
Building codes set out the minimum standards and requirements for the design, construction, and maintenance of buildings, while zoning regulations dictate how the land can be used and developed within certain areas.
To obtain a building permit, you will need to submit detailed plans and specifications for your project to your town and country planning department in your district. Attach the land ownershipdocument from Lands Commission. Also attach four copies of architectural and structural drawings, a certified fire report, and an EPA permit to the Building Permit Application Form from the Assembly.
The Physical Planning Unit in the District/Municipal Assembly to which plans have been submitted may in the exercise of its power under Section 84 of the Local Government Act, 1993 (Act 462), grant the building permit.
Per the National Building Code of 1995, the period of the validity of a building permit shall ordinarily be five years, except that if the work authorized in the permit is not completed within the time stipulated, the Planning Authority may extend the period on application by the applicant or his agent who must be a person in the building design profession.
You can begin construction once your plans are approved and your permit is issued. It is important to obtain a building permit to avoid fines, penalties, or demolishing of completed buildings without a permit.
By ensuring that new buildings are constructed in a safe, sustainable, and environmentally-friendly manner, these building regulations help to promote the health, safety, and well-being of residents and contribute to the overall development of the country.
- Environmental Impact Regulations
Ghana’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) laws require that all major development projects undergo an EIA before they can be approved. The EIA process involves an assessment of the potential environmental impacts of a proposed project and the development of measures to mitigate or avoid these impacts.
One of the key laws governing environmental impact assessments in Ghana is the Environmental Assessment Regulations of 1999, which sets out the requirements for environmental impact assessment studies (EIAs) to be conducted prior to the approval of certain development projects.
The Environmental Assessment Regulations require that an EIA be conducted for any development project that is likely to have significant environmental impacts, such as large-scale construction projects, mining activities, or industrial operations.
In addition to the Environmental Assessment Regulations, other environmental laws in Ghana that impact land use and planning include the Water Resources Commission Act of 1996, which regulates the use and management of water resources, and the GhanaForest and Wildlife Policy of 2012, which aims to protect and conserve Ghana’s flora, and fauna and to promote the rehabilitation and restoration of degraded landscapes through forest plantation development.
- Conclusion
Ghana’s land use and planning laws are critical to ensuring that development projects are carried out sustainably and responsibly that benefit both people and the environment. By understanding the various zoning regulations, building permit requirements, and environmental laws that apply to their projects, developers, and planners can help to ensure that their work aligns with the broader goals of sustainable development and environmental protection.
THE WRITER IS A BARRISTER AND SOLICITOR OF THE SUPREME COURT OF GHANA AND A MEMBER OF ZOE, AKYEA & CO LAW FIRM IN LABONE, ACCRA.
HIS LEGAL INTERESTS INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO REAL/PROPERTY LAW, CORPORATE AND COMMERCIAL PRACTICE, CONSTRUCTION LAW, AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION.
CONTACT: PTABIRI@GMAIL.COM
By: Prince Kojo Tabiri ESQ
There is a scripture that is found in Matthew 6:22 which says that the lamp of the body is the eye and therefore the eye must see well to enable the body to get to its destination.
What most people do not know is that behind the scenes, there is a strong interaction between the eyes and the brain before a picture becomes clear. The state of mind therefore is crucial to the eye seeing clearly to enable the body to process accurately the information the eyes are feeding it for proper identification of what the eyes see.
This is similar to how a person behaves i.e. what informs the decisions that forms in the mind that results in the actions that a person performs. The actions of a person does not therefore just happen but is as a result of things that went on in the mind, which in most cases resulted from information passed on to it by the eyes either consciously or unconsciously.
There are so many issues that affect our society which makes one wonder, whether the people who displayed such acts were created by someone or something other than God.
How can a person see a beach created by God with beautiful beaches and fresh air blowing all around, decides to defecate at such places, and therefore desecrate the environment? lt is simply mind boggling?
When other people in other countries who dwell on the coast are using their beaches for tourist attraction purposes as a means of livelihood and also to promote environmental health, some people living around our beaches, have turned them into rubbish dumping sites and toilets.
It is a very sad situation and the earlier we did something about it the better. It is a national emergency that must engage the attention, first of the government and then the citizenry, where religious bodies and NGOs must play a critical role.
The things we focus on in this country, needs to be addressed. Our minds which processes the info the eyes send to the brain, must be disciplined. There are certain behaviours that a disciplined mind can ignore even when the eye has provided info to the brain. One of the things a disciplined mind does, is the avoidance of a second look, which is critical for every person who wants to avoid adultery or fornication.
Once a person is not blind, he will see things. The boobs, the ‘shankus’, the coca cola shapes, the light complexioned, the dark complexioned etc. the eyes will definitely see and report same to the brain. What the brain or the mind decides to do or instructs the eye to do is the issue.
It can decide to instruct the eye to take a second look and let the mind drool over it or say ignore it and that will be the end.
If the mind becomes trained to focus on environmental issues like clean environment, the eyes will automatically be reporting on insanitary conditions to the brain as and when it sees them. The mind will pay attention to such data and begin to process them and to identify solutions to deal with the reported insanitary conditions.
There is the need to encourage citizens to train the mind to focus on the right thing so that in tandem with the eyes, focus will be maintained. When the mind is so trained, it communicates with the eye to also focus on hood things that helps in both are spiritual life and our secular lives, for indeed the eyes are the lamp of the body. God bless.
THE relationship between New Times Corporation (NTC) and African Concrete Productions (ACP) is based entirely on matters of the stomach. Each depends on the other in a dietary symbiosis, reinforced by the close proximity of each other
At lunchtime, you’d see a particular set of Times workers marching regimentally to ACP to face the wall. You’d think they are soldiers. It has long been declared that the company manufactures the best kokonte in the Greater Accra Region. ACP is, therefore, a culinary haven for those NTC kokonte fans, both male and female.
As the NTC kokonte warriors cross the border to ACP, you’d see some ACP banku fanatics dancing joyously to NTC. They are lucky folks because they do not have to obtain visa to enter into ‘Times’ to attack the balls of banku with precision and accuracy. They also claim that the lightsoup at ‘Times’ is arguably the best in West Africa.
So the relationship between the two entities was quite cordial and based practically on stomach palaver, until ACP workers staged an industrial revolution, whereupon the managing director, accountant and estate manager were allegedly stripped naked and locked up in a room. An insurgency had began in earnest.
An ACP worker came to ‘Times’, this time not to eat banku and okro. He had come to inform newsmen that juicy stuff awaited them at ACP. It could make a front page lead story.
A camerawoman and a female reporter were accordingly dispatched to go and bring back news, juicy news as juicy as kokonte and groundnut soup.
I was driving to work when I espied the familiar camerawoman clicking away outside the ACP premises. I didn’t see any ‘Times’ reporter but angry workers who were on the verge of getting violent. I slowed down and the driver behind blew his horn at me like a lunatic. I drove on.
Later, I heard the reporter and camerawoman were harassed and brutalised. The report came,. “The camerawoman, Mrs Salome Adonu-Agbottah and reporter Mrs Doreen Allotey, in an attempt to retrieve the camera which the workers had seized from them were severely beaten. They were manhandled and almost pushed into a big gutter opposite the company’s premises.
BRUISES
“….The camerawoman had bruises on her body, her hand bag was destroyed and the money in it stolen. Mrs Allotey’s watch was also snatched and her feet stamped on.”
Luckily, it was not her nose that was trampled upon. She has a beautiful nose.
The bad news was received with extreme sorrow. If the victims had been men, it would not have seemed too bad. But to brutalise women is just unacceptable. The New Times Corporation has not stopped mourning the incident which has been condemned in many circles.
Some people keep asking me why Times sent females to cover a potentially violent demonstration. I tell them they might as well ask why CNN’s amazon, Christina Amanpour, is assigned to cover the carnage in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Rwanda. She is always on the frontline in jeans and jacket.
Journalism is a potentially hazardous profession, and once you accept to study and practise the trade, you might as well bone up to face any assignment as long as your superiors feel you are capable of handling it or you have demonstrated the capacity to handle it. Both males and females can be assigned anywhere, anytime just like policemen and women are assigned.
The only difference between cops and pressmen is that the latter are armed only with a pen and the former with a gun. The question is should newsmen also arm themselves so that in any event of an assault they would not be found wanting in self-defence? They can’t adequately defend themselves with a pen and a jotter. A pen cannot even disfigure an opponent’s upper lip.
Photo-journalists have particularly suffered violence. Spectator ace-cameraman Vincent Dzatse was severely assaulted by AMA men when he attempted to take pictures of their indiscretions.
Sports cameraman, P. K. Arthur has been beaten more than once at the sports stadium when riots errupted and he wanted to capture it on his lenses.
Some sports journalists have been banned from entering the Accra Sports Stadium by supporters because in their comments, they didn’t write “sense”. Some supporters once nearly lynched Christian Abbew, Spectator Sports Editor, near a courtroom. He was stoned like the biblical Stephen. He had gone to defend a contempt charge.
I think it is time journalists met and discussed how best to defend themselves in any event of an attack by individuals or mobs. In the pursuance of their duty, they must be free from harassment and assault.
Some journalists go to work and return home with a black-eye or a double fore-head. It is just not right. Something has to be done about it. I think journalists should be armed. But first we must be trained in the use of firearms so that our warning shot do not hit below the belt. What about training in Kung Fu?
This article was first published on Saturday, October 17, 1998.
