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Participants at a forum on Land Use Planning in Bolgatanga, on Wednesday urged Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to show a keen interest in the establishment of Land Use Plans. They stressed that the MMDAs should show political will by supporting the Town and Country Planning Department (TCPD) to come out with Land Use Plans to enhance proper development. They noted that the Assemblies which were the pivot for development needed to view the exercise as a very important one and start putting the necessary structures in place to undertake the exercise. The Participants observed that the floods that occurred in the Region could be blamed on the absence of Land Use Planning, and noted that proper land use planning would have helped minimise the devastation caused by the floods in the area. They pointed out that good Land Use Planning could also bring about proper development in the respective MMDAs, since people would build according to plan. �It would also attract investors who want to acquire land for development and help generate employment for the people.� The Regional Director of TCPD, Mr. Obirempong Nana Denkyremhene Kwabena, took the participants through topics including the �Need for Land Use Planning in Upper East�, �Land Use Planning � The Roles of Stakeholders�, �Land Use Planning and �Land Banks in Upper East: The Way foreword�. He mentioned the various Land Agencies including the Survey Departments, TCPD, Land Valuation and Land Commission and their respective roles. Mr Kwabena stressed the need for all people who want to buy land to go strictly through the necessary procedure in acquiring them to avoid problems, instead of using unapproved means. He also stated the need for government to go by the public acquisition of land procedure, and to secure proper documentations to avoid any confrontation with landowners. Mr. Adongo Anafo, the President of the �Tindamas� (Landowners) Association said the Association was in full support of Land Use Planning, and said it would curtail the problems associated with land acquisition. He said the Tindamas were ready to give the necessary support to the project and reiterated the need for the stakeholders especially the MMDAs to hasten the implementation process when it was started. The Bolgatanga Municipal Chief Executive, Mr. Epsona Harry Ayamga, who read a speech on behalf of the Upper East Regional Minster, Mr. Mark Woyongo, asked the MMDAs and other stakeholders to view the exercise as important since it would help streamline land ownership and also ensure optimum and judicious use of land in the Region. He said it would also help boost the confidence of investors who seek land for investment, and noted that it would help prevent people from indiscriminate building. The forum which attracted MMDAs, Coordinating Directors, Planners, Assembly Members, Presiding Members, Staff of Land Agencies, and Traditional Leaders among others, was sponsored by the Business Support and Advocacy Centre (BUSAC).