The Office of the Heads of the Local Government Service (OHLGS) organized two days training on ‘REVISED OPERATIONAL AND PROCEDURE MANUAL’ for the Physical Planning Department of the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Assembly on the 21st and 22nd January, 2025 at the main conference hall of the Assembly. This Operational and Procedure Manual is developed mainly to address the challenges and also to ensure that the delivery of physical planning services is streamlined across all Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Country.
The primary objectives of the training were to educate the staff on the operational and procedure manual, ensure alignment with updated regulatory frameworks and standards, improve the department’s capacity to deliver quality planning services and also enhance understanding of roles, responsibilities, and inter-departmental collaborations.
According to the facilitators, the Operational and Procedure manual is a revised version of an outdated one developed by the Local Government Service for use by Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies in November, 2018.
The document is made up of the Strategic Management part which serves as a useful source of information for Line Heads in streamlining operations to ensure an acceptable level of performance across the Service. It also serves as the reference document in the training and orientation of staff in the Physical Planning Department. The procedure part of the document on the other hand includes a standardized step by step sequence of seeking spatial planning services across all Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Country.
They also highlighted on the areas covered by the Manual which includes the procedure for the preparation of a Spatial Development Framework (SDF), Structure Plan, Local Plan, establishment and management of parks, road median and nursery, landscape design implementation and maintenance, procedures for street naming and development permitting among others. The procedures serve as a guide for staff of the Physical Planning Department (which is a merger of the Spatial Planning and Parks and Garden Units) in the performance of the functions and responsibilities of the Department. It also serves as a useful reference document not only for the Physical Planning Officers but also to other officers whose duties are related to spatial planning and development control such as members of the Spatial Planning Committee (SPC) and the Technical Sub-Committee (TSC).
Mr. Selom Kwame Tibu, the Coordinating Director of the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Assembly spoke on behalf of the assembly and expressed gratitude to the representatives from the Office of Heads of the Local Government Service for organizing and facilitating the impactful training session.
In conclusion, the revised operational and procedure manual training was a significant step toward strengthening the capacity of the Physical Planning Department.
In attendance were the Coordinating Director, Representatives from the Local Government Service, Physical Planning Staff, and other Stakeholders.