Jonathan Teye Doku, District Chief Executive, Ningo-Prampram District Assembly, has revealed that the Plan City Extension Project being undertaken by the assembly and other partners is a sustainable approach to sustain cities without slums in district.

Speaking at the first ordinary meeting organized by Ningo-Prampram District Assembly, he said, the essence of the City Extension Project was to avoid slums in the District, which would also encourage payment of property rates and acquisition of building permits.

He added that it was also an effective way to get the residents to pay for property rate and acquire building permits.

Mr Teye Doku said the project would drive other developmental projects into Ningo-Prampram because the Assembly had some percentage to gain on every unit of house being sold.

He said the challenge the Assembly was facing was that most of the lands were owned by the chiefs and the elders of the communities, which sometimes hindered their plans for the initiative.

“The challenge is that some of the lands belong to the chiefs and elders, so while you are in the office making plans for the site, they will be on the field selling the lands,” he said.

Mr Teye Doku said within the next three months, the Minister of Works and Housing and other authorities would officially come to the District to cut sods for the commencement of the project.

Mr Daniel Aidoo, the Project Manager of the Plan City Extension Project, explained that many people had expressed interest in the ongoing project.

Mr Aidoo said interested parties could pay about 20 per cent of the amount and moved into the apartment and do the rest of the payment within a maximum period of 25 years.

He said although the initiative was done under the umbrella of the Assembly, it was a private initiative, as such the Assembly could not be liable in case the company was not able to deliver as expected.

Some Assembly members expressed their worry over the project, saying that they did not understand why the name of Ningo-Prampram was used to promote the project during advertisement if the project was privately led.

They called on the authorities to help stop the advertisement and to provide agreement plan between the District Assembly and the management of Plan City Extension Project within a period of 21 working days.