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Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) having challenges in the implementation of the Street Naming and Property Addressing System (SNPAS) have been urged to consult their colleagues to share knowledge and skills to surmount them. Mr Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, said such MMDAs should not hesitate to contact the various Regional Town and Country Departments for technical support. He made the call when delivering the keynote address at the opening session of a five-day training for 60 Physical and Development Planning Officers and Budget Officers from Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) in the Brong-Ahafo Region in Sunyani on Monday. The training being sponsored by the German Technical Cooperation (GIZ) is on Land Use Planning and Management Information System (LUPMIS) for the implementation of SNPAS. In addition, it would create a platform to ascertain from the MMDAs the overall status of implementation of the programme and devise strategies to surmount any challenges being encountered. Mr Agyekum said assemblies at Shama, Sefwi Wiawso, Tarkwa Nsuaem, Prestea/Huni Valley, Bibiani-Anhiawso-Bekwai and Sekondi-Takoradi in the Western Region had made substantial progress with the SNPA implementation using the policy and guidelines provided by the Ministry. Others are Ketu South and Ho in the Volta Region, Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, Cape Coast, Agona West, Komenda/Edna/Eguafo/Abirim in the Central Region, Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly in the Ashanti Region, Suhum in the Eastern Region, Tamale in the Northern Region, Techiman in the Brong-Ahafo Region and Wa in the Upper West Region. He explained that the SNPAS was beyond the mere naming of streets and numbering of properties but also involves the creation of spatial data for efficient and effective urban land use planning with the application of Geographical Information System (GIS) to surmount myriad of urban development challenges. Mr Agyekum said among the benefits to the MMDAs are increase in revenue mobilization and improvement in urban planning and management through the use if GIS for planning and managing services by the technical departments. Others are GIS identification of public assets and allows a monitoring system to be put in place to assist with urban planning and programming of investments. It will help improve local tax collection and make it possible to locate and compile a register of taxable individuals or businesses and thereby more accurately determine the tax base. Mr Agyekum said to enable the MMDAs meet President John Dramani Mahama�s deadline of end of September, the Ministry prepared and distributed the Street Naming Policy and Guidelines, a Step by Step How to Do Manual and further directed them to establish GIS Units and constitute Street Naming Task Teams. Mr Kwame Darkwa Osei, Director of Town and Country Planning, said the major problem was the implementation of the policy and appealed to the MMDCEs to allocate more resources to the department because the SNPAS would generate more revenue for the assemblies. He said the process would not end by the end of September but continue to update new developments. Mr Simon Manu, Programme Manager of GIZ, said it was collaborating with the Ministry to ensure the successful implementation of the SNPAS.