Building Permit Acquisition in Ghana: The Situation in Kumasi

Abstract

Granting of building permits by District, Municipal and Metropolitan Authorities is an administrative procedure adopted to ensure that the development of communities in a particular area or jurisdiction is controlled and carried out as planned. It is a notable fact that many infrastructural projects and developments are taking place without approval from the statutory bodies in the district, municipal and metropolitan communities. This has resulted in unplanned siting of building structures, use of unapproved drawings, building on water ways etc. within the metropolis and other urban centres all over the country. This has become a national canker which needs to be addressed. This problem prompted the need to carry out a research on granting of building permits and the challenges associated with its acquisition in the Kumasi metropolis. Questionnaires were administered to architects, building inspectors, landlords and landladies, land officers and members of Kumasi Planning Committee (KPC) for an understanding of the permit acquisition process. Interviews were also conducted among stakeholders and professionals for their views on the matters relating to the subject under study. The study established that the procedure for acquiring building permit is too long and because of land insecurity, owners are forced to initiate a project to safeguard the land which they may have acquired and already costs a fortune. The study came out with some recommendations that stringent measures will have to be put in place by authorities to eliminate the processing delays. It further suggested that there could be more regularly held meetings to screen applications and networking of the Town and Country Planning Department, Lands Commission and Engineers/ Works Department of the Assembly. It recommended that logistics and transportation in the form of motor bikes perhaps will aid faster inspection of buildings in the various localities by the building inspectors. Keywords: Building permit, KMA, KPC, MMDAs, TCPD.

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