Officers of the Information Services Department and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) have been charged to be good ambassadors in educating the populace on the draft Western Region Spatial Development Framework (SDF).

Mr. Lawrence Dakurah, Deputy Director of Technical Services of the Town and Country Department, made the call on Friday at a workshop on communication modalities on the draft SDF for over 50 ISD and NCCE officers at Takoradi in the Western Region.

He noted that proper education on the framework would in no small way contribute to the region accepting and owning it, as well as ensuring its successful implementation.

The communication workshop preceded an earlier meeting with stakeholders of the region including chiefs, the security agencies, DCEs and other officers to deliberate on the draft and make a final input on the document.

The SDF is a plan and a platform to integrate social, economic and environment policies for the region. It is funded by NORAD, under its Oil and Gas development programme and the government of Ghana.

The 20 year development plan for the region covers four thematic areas namely, settlement, economy, infrastructure and environment.

Mr. Dakurah noted that the discovery of oil in commercial quantity in the region had put an unwarranted pressure on land usage, particularly in the region, and the plan sought to address this and other emerging land issues.

“We are going to value and appropriate the use of land through technical analysis to ensure right usage and avoid landlessness in future”, he added.

Ms. Solace Asafo, Communication Officer on the project said, the SDF in the long run will ensure harmony in the use of land, direct growth and development to create clean and environmentally friendly and healthier communities.

She said the promulgation of the new land use law would also empower the citizenry to report individuals who misuse land resources.

Ms. Asafo said there was the need to restore, protect and preserve the environment, and that the orderly arrangement of activities in the space in relation to socio-economic plans, policies and programme were key to sustainable growth.

The Western Region SDF is the first of its kind, perhaps due to the oil find and the clamour for land. The plan, according to experts, would allow the over 17 districts to develop their own plans, which would be incorporated into the regional plan.**