LaDMA launches 12-year development plan

By Kingsley Webora TANKEH

The La Dade-Kotopon Municipal Assembly (LaDMA) has officially launched its comprehensive 12-Year Long-Term Development Plan, aiming to become a transformed municipality by the time LaDMA celebrates its silver jubilee in 2037.

The plan sets ambitious targets for job creation, infrastructure development, digitisation and environmental resilience.

The launch was under the them, ‘Shaping Our Destiny: A Roadmap for Transformation and Prosperity’.

Addressing the event, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of LaDMA, Mr. Alfredos Nii Anyetei, acknowleged the groundwork laid by predecessors, especially former MCE Solomon Kottey Nikoi, who first conceived the plan.

He asserted: “This is not just a document. It is our blueprint for transformation; a commitment to pursue a smarter, more inclusive community”, pledging that “no one will be left behind”.

Mr. Anyetei emphasised that the plan is a product of extensive and consultative community engagement. “It reflects a collective vision: voiced by our citizens, guided by traditional authorities, inspired by our youth, and backed by the expertise of technocrats and partners.”

He placed LaDMA’s residents at the plan’s core, listing the need for social amenities like better schools for children, quality healthcare, conducive business environment for entrepreneurs, sanitation and support for  fisherfolk, artisans, the elderly and Persons With Disabilities (PWDs).

Mr. Anyetei invited “government, private sector, civil society, traditional leaders and residents to walk with us on this path. Let us own, fund, monitor and implement this plan together”.

This comprehensive development blueprint outlines measurable targets it seeks to achieve by the said date. These include the creation of over 5,000 decent jobs, making significant upgrades in educational infrastructure and expansion of essential services, particularly primary healthcare to everyone living at the LaDMA catchment area.

It is also of LaDMA’s interest to ensure the La General Hospital project is completed before the plan lapses, digitise 70 percent of LaDMA’s services and build a responsive and accountable governance system.

Mr. Anyetei confirmed that the plan will tackle flooding, uncontrolled construction, waste mismanagement and climate threats head-on through “sustainable drainage, circular waste management and environmental resilience.” He stressed: “We cannot speak of progress if our communities remain vulnerable,” promising a “cleaner, safer, greener municipality”.

While ambitious, the MCE acknowledged the need for flexibility: “This plan is not cast in stone”, creating room for adaptation to new realities.

Mrs. Rita Naa Odoley Sowah, the Deputy Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs and MP for La Dade-Kotopon Constituency, lauded the plan. “This is a signal of our collective resolve to empower our cities and build a resilient, inclusive and sustainable urban future,” she declared.

From her capacity, she highlighted the challenges facing Ghanaian cities: uncoordinated development, poor drainage, inadequate infrastructure, sanitation issues and weak land-use enforcement.

“Today LaDMA is showing the way forward,” the deputy minister stated, commending the Assembly for aligning “long-term visioning with grounded participatory planning”.

She urged all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) across Ghana to “emulate this example” and prioritise their own long-term plans.

Mrs. Sowah linked LaDMA’s plan to national initiatives like the newly-launched Ghana Sustainable Cities Strategy focusing on climate resilience, competitiveness and inclusive growth.

However, she encouraged assemblies to collaborate across boundaries on shared challenges like flooding and waste management. “No assembly is an island,” she noted.

The deputy minister also announced the reform of the ‘Clean Ghana Campaign’ and the relaunch of ‘National Sanitation Day’, calling on all citizens and institutions to join hands.

She urged LaDMA to ensure meticulous implementation, ensuring the plan’s impact moves “beyond paper” and truly transforms lives.

The deputy minister, who is herself a resident and representative of LaDMA, concluded with a clarion call: “Let’s all hands be on deck to ensure that we support this vision”.

La Dade-Kotopon Municipal Assembly (LaDMA) is one of the 21 districts in the Greater Accra Region, carved out of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly in 2012. Though young, LaDMA led the park of all the 261 MMDAs in 2023, emerging the best performing assembly and runner in 2024. Its capital is La.

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