Kumasi: The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has sensitized the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority (LUSPA) on provisions in the Environmental Protection Act 2025. About 50 physical planners drawn from 43 Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Ashanti Region were enlightened on the Act 1124 during a workshop organized by the Ashanti Regional office of the EPA.
According to Ghana News Agency, Dr. Jackson Adiyiah Nyantakyi, the Ashanti Regional Director of the EPA, addressed the opening session of the sensitization workshop held in Kumasi. He commended the passage of the Act, which he noted would reform the nation's environmental governance. Dr. Nyantakyi stated that the Act empowers the EPA to take full oversight responsibility for all environmental matters, including the authority to review and revoke rezoning decisions on environmentally sensitive areas of the MMDAs, which may have negative impacts on public health.
Dr. Nyantakyi expressed hope that the Act would enhance the operational mandate and capacity of the EPA, addressing limitations of the old EPA Act 1994 (Act 490), which did not adequately cover emerging environmental challenges such as electronic waste, pesticide management and control, and climate change. He urged physical planners to align their planning processes with provisions in Act 1124 to improve environmental management in the region.
Alhaji Sulley Zikiru, the Ashanti Regional Director of LUSPA, commended the EPA, describing the sensitization as in-depth and insightful. He noted that it would position planners to work effectively.