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The role of expats Planner and Architects
The early years of independence of Ghana were a period when the government increasingly projected an image of prosperity, stability of new born county. This was done through imposed modernity and grandiose architectural projects. Also as part of this construction of a modern Ghanaian identity, an attempt was make to replace technicians and planners bound to the country’s colonial and transitional phases – such as Maxwell Fry and Jane Draw. Their works were deemed too ‘traditional’ to represent modern Ghana. The government then turned to “non-aligned nations’’, to East Block expat architects and planners. Doxiadis Associates – international development consultants based in Athens was summoned at a crucial moment to propagate Kwame Nkrumah as an ideal of modernity. Since 1959 Doxiadis Associates has produced a series of preliminary reports on Ghana, such as the Accra- Tema metropolitan and Accra – Tema – Akosombo Regional plans. Only two Ghanaians have been involved at the high position in planning of the resettlement scheme: Mr. E.A.Kobla Kalitsi, an economist, he was in change of the whole resettlements operation, later he became Director of Finance and then later Managing Director of Volta River Authority. And Mr. Godfrey W. Amartefio was Principal Welfare Officer; he was responsible for social welfare, evacuation and post- evacuation All the expat architects and planner works under Mr. Kobla and Mr. Amartefio as apart of the Working Party. Their designs were mainly respond to the come of social survey questionnaire by the Department of Social Welfare without direct contact with the resettled population.
Source: Volta River Authority. Accra - Ghana
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