By Boakye Stephen, Kumasi, Ghana | Reporting for Ghanaian News, Canada | May 6, 2026
Urban development expert David Ofosu-Dorte has criticized Ghana’s planning structure, arguing that development patterns are too heavily driven by utility expansion rather than coordinated national planning.
According to him, infrastructure such as electricity, roads, and water systems often determines where development occurs instead of strategic urban design and long-term economic planning.
He warned that this approach can create disorganized expansion, congestion, and inefficient city growth.
Mr Ofosu-Dorte emphasized the need for integrated planning systems capable of directing development intentionally rather than merely reacting to utility availability.
He argued that cities should grow according to carefully designed national priorities involving transportation, housing, commerce, environmental sustainability, and economic productivity.
COMMENTARY | BOAKYE STEPHEN
A nation develops differently when planning leads infrastructure instead of infrastructure accidentally leading planning.
Unplanned growth creates expensive future problems.
When cities expand without coordination, governments later spend billions trying to fix avoidable mistakes.
True development is intentional.
And countries that master urban planning often gain long-term economic advantages because efficiency itself becomes part of national productivity.
