On Wednesday, 18th March 2026, a delegation from the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority (LUSPA), led by its Board Chairman, Pln. Jonathan Azasoo (FGIP), and the Chief Executive Officer, Pln. Dr. Kwadwo Yeboah (FGIP), paid a courtesy call on the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC).

The delegation was received by the Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Nii Moi Thompson, and the Director-General, Pln. Dr. Audrey Smock Amoah (FGIP), together with key technical staff of the Commission.

Discussions focused on deepening the integration of development planning and spatial planning within Ghana’s national planning system. LUSPA highlighted critical concerns, including the limited incorporation of spatial dimensions in development plans and progress reports, as well as insufficient integration of policy perspectives into spatial plans. Other issues raised included weak coordination across planning processes, duplication of functions, and the absence of spatial indicators within monitoring and evaluation frameworks.

The Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Nii Moi Thompson described the engagement as timely and reaffirmed the importance of spatial planning as the physical expression of development policy. He, however, acknowledged persistent challenges in urban governance, particularly in development control, enforcement, and political interference.

Both institutions recognised shared challenges, including coordination gaps and capacity constraints at the decentralised level. They underscored the need for a more coherent, aligned, and integrated planning and reporting framework.

The meeting concluded with an agreement to establish a joint technical committee to develop modalities for enhanced collaboration. The committee will work to strengthen the integration of spatial considerations into development planning processes, reinforce the policy foundations of spatial plans, enhance the spatial content of progress reports, align planning frameworks at national and sub-national levels, and incorporate spatial indicators into results frameworks.