The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has decided to liaise with the Manhyia Palace for the orderly development of lands belonging to it or vested in it by the State by private developers.

No association or developer will be allowed to build on any such land without the express approval of the KMA, the government or the Manhyia palace, KMA's Chief Executive officer, Mr. Maxwell Kofi Jumah has announced.

He said individuals and associations would no longer be allowed to develop lands belonging to the KMA or those vested in it without formal agreement or lease.

According to him, the assembly is taking steps to take over the control and management of structures and stores constructed on such lands as part of measures to curtail indiscriminate development and appropriation of the land by private individuals.

The KMA boss has consequently warned the public to crosscheck before the payment of any monies to developers of such lands.

He said there are a lot of structures including blocks of stores that have been built on KMA lands which have no documents to indicate the conditions and obligations of the developer to the assembly.

Jumah was giving audience to executive members of the Traditional Caterers Association who had called on him at his office to seek clarification about the suspension of work on a piece of land being developed at the Kejetia terminal by the association.

He stressed that henceforth any development of such lands would be designed and built for the benefit of the entire residents and not just for members of a particular association to ensure maximum utilization of the land.

The Metro chief executive explained that even where a developer is allowed to build on such land, a formal agreement on terms such as Build Operate Transfer (BOT) or any such arrangement that the assembly would deem appropriate, would be reached before development would be allowed to commence.