Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Dr Nii Moi Thompson, says the growing reliance on demolition exercises by public officials reflects deep institutional failure rather than decisive leadership.
Dr. Nii Moi, speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana on Thursday, January 15, 2026, argued that when ministers, regional ministers or MMDCEs personally lead demolition operations, it is evidence that governance systems are not working as they should.
“Any time you see an MCE, a regional minister, any public official leading the demolition of illegal structures, it’s an admission of failed leadership,” he said.
According to him, the role of political heads is not to enforce planning laws on the ground, but to build effective institutions that prevent illegal development in the first place.
“A DCE is supposed to have a vision for the institution, build systems, and let the systems work,” he said.
“If you have to leave from behind your desk to go out there, it means you failed.”
Dr Thompson said the routine cycle of ignoring illegal structures until they become entrenched, only to later demolish them with task forces, points to weak planning and enforcement mechanisms at the local level.
“This is why you have the mess, the chaos that we have in our cities,” he said.
He warned that demolition exercises often come too late and impose unnecessary hardship on citizens, especially traders and small business owners.
Dr Thompson criticised how enforcement actions are sometimes carried out, accusing officials of prioritising intimidation over efficient service delivery.
“Sometimes I see them intimidating traders on weekends,” he said. “Close your shop, we are cleaning gutters.”
He questioned why such activities are done during business hours, arguing that better planning could avoid disruption.
“If you’re really smart, you plan it in such a way that you do that after hours, maybe even overnight,” he said.
According to him, demolition-led enforcement is not the solution to urban disorder but a symptom of long-standing governance weaknesses.
“If everybody has to do that,” he said, referring to citizens physically reporting violations at district offices, “this is why you have the chaos.”
He stressed that without functioning institutions that respond quickly to violations, cities will continue to experience uncontrolled development followed by reactive demolitions.
Dr Thompson maintained that sustainable urban management depends on prevention, not spectacle.
“It is not the place of a DCE to go demolishing things,” he said. “A DCE is supposed to build systems.”
Until those systems work, he warned, demolition exercises will continue to dominate headlines without solving the underlying problem.
“This is the source of the failure,” Nii Moi said.
Source: metrotvonline.com
