General News of Saturday, 13 January 2018

Source: ghananewsagency.org

Ghana to develop a home-grown digital mapping system

The digital mapping will help promote the National Digital Property Addressing System The digital mapping will help promote the National Digital Property Addressing System

Mr Kwesi Boateng Adjei, a Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development (MLG&RD) has said government would develop a Home-grown Digital Mapping of property to promote the National Digital Property Addressing System (NDPAS) and Street Naming system.

“The NDPAS will also be used to promote the digital mapping of parcels of land across the country for easy navigation and relevant spatial data for effective service delivery.”

He said the vision of the initiative is to achieve a nationwide use of spatial database information for good governance and socio-economic development through the development, management and dissemination of property addressing linked with postal codes and to ensure total access to high-quality geographic information and services for individuals and organisations.

Mr Adjei was addressing Metropolitan, Municipal and District Executives (MMDCEs), Coordinating Directors and other Officers of the Assemblies in the Volta Region at a sensitisation workshop on the NDPAS organised by the Ministry of MLG&RD in collaboration with the Land Used and Spatial Planning Authority (LUSPA) .

The workshop is part of government’s effort at ensuring the completion of the Street Naming and Property Addressing, especially the digitisation of property towards the effective opening of the economy and supporting MMDAs to improve revenue generation.

It is also to enable the participants to understand the expected activities and outcomes to roll-out the street naming and property addressing exercise and also prepare MMDAs to continue and successfully deploy the Ghana Post GPS.

He said revenue mobilisation is a critical success factor for effective development and improved standard of living and that the NDPAS has a great implication for revenue mobilisation and would give MMDAs and their Managers the required resources to deliver social amenities such as schools, health facilities, improved sanitation, modern markets and lorry parks and overall, the ability to build resilient cities.

Mr Adjei who is also the Member of Parliament for New Juaben North said the commitment to the implementation of Street Naming and Digital Addressing makes spatial planning a strategy for which MMDAs can leverage on for effective planning and development and to address the challenge of development before planning, as it pertains in the country.

He said the Ministry would soon make the NDPAS and street naming and a minimum condition for the assessment of the FOAT Assessment in the District Development Facility and the Urban Development Grant to compel MMDAs as required.”

Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, Volta Regional Minister said the NDPAS is aimed at saving emergency situations and would rescue operations of missions as rescue teams had always been impeded by navigation difficulties.

The Regional Minister expressed the hope that the NDPAS would create job opportunities for the Ghanaian people and the real essence of the exercise would be materialised to enable the MMDAs educate Ghanaians.

Mr Chapman Owusu-Sekyere of the LUSPA and Mr Ekow Paintsil from the Ghana Post took the participants through various stages for them to understand the processes and importance of the exercise.
An address after the workshop was generated for the Volta Regional Coordinating Council which is coded: VH-0003-9423.