The Immediate Past President of the Ghana Institute of Surveyors, Kofi Obeng-Ayirebi, has called for a centralised approach to infrastructure planning, warning that fragmented district-level control is undermining effective urban development in the country.
Speaking at the Citi Business Festival 2026 on Monday, June 15, under the theme “Building Competitive Cities: Infrastructure, Innovation and Investment for Sustainable Economic Growth,” he argued that Ghana’s current administrative structure has led to disjointed planning and inefficiencies in key infrastructure delivery.
According to him, critical urban systems such as transport networks, drainage, waste management and road infrastructure should not be separately managed by multiple district assemblies, but rather coordinated under a unified national framework.
He explained that while implementation processes can involve different actors and structures, overall planning and control of major infrastructure projects must remain centralised to ensure coherence and efficiency.
Obeng-Ayirebi further noted that fragmentation of responsibilities among district assemblies has often been driven by political considerations, rather than technical or developmental needs, resulting in duplication and weak coordination.
“The fragmentation of the various district assemblies has both positive and negative aspects. When you are talking about infrastructure and transport development, you don’t need to fragment the planning, but implementation can be structured in phases to achieve the end goal.
He proposed the involvement of the private sector in implementation to improve efficiency and reduce delays, stressing that this must be supported by a clear and unified planning framework to guide development priorities.
