Most East African cities and urban centers need a replanning in line with the rapid changes in the economy and increased population.
As a result, planners from the East Africa Community countries want the governments to allocate enough funds for planning cities and urban centers.
City planners from the East African region have been meeting in Malindi town in Kenya to deliberate on the next decade planning of regional states.
Three presidents of the institute of planners from Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania attended the convention which was also virtual in East Africa and globally.
During the convention, it emerged that planners were doing a lot of work in planning for towns, urban centers, and cities but the majority of the documents were lying in archives.
Joakim Nyarangi who is the president of the Kenya Institute of Planners said there are only four counties that developed spatial plans out of the 47 counties.
Addressing journalists at the planning group of hotels in Malindi, Nyarangi said the counties are Lamu, Makueni, Kericho, and Bomet counties.
He called for other counties to establish spatial plans, a crucial document in the planning and development of cities and urban centers.
"It gives a very good manual for counties to put in resources, capacity and guide development in those areas," he said.
He said they shall come up with policy recommendations, legislation and planning recommendations to guide policymakers in making the recommendations.
The president said one of the areas they are looking for is budgetary allocations for approved spatial plans prioritizing sectorial development such as health which will cover the plans.
The President of Uganda Institute of Physical planners Grace Bagaya said they can have well-structured plans but if the government does not give priority they will not be implemented.
She said the keynote by the president of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta will also enable other presidents to commit themselves to adopt the plans so that as Africa they can match Europe in planning.
"Our African countries need to prioritise physical planning because it's planning which can bring liveable cities," she said.
Bagaya said it’s through planning that can establish good zoning of areas so that people do not build anyhow and slums come up.
She said plans are in archives and are not implemented and called on governments to remove them from the archives and ensure they are financed as engineers cannot build roads alone without planning.
In her country, she said government fail to put priorities on planning adding that it’s time they advocate for financing to get good budgetary allocations.
"Let us plan the area then development comes into place but not leave people to come and come up with mushrooming developments," she said.
Dr Mohamed Juma Tanzania Institute of Town planners said the East African region is interconnected inform of infrastructure, social-economic that’s why there is a need to integrate their thinking in terms of spatial planning.
He expressed optimism that there would be the formalization of the East African Institute of Planners which will be a great initiative.
Juma said villages towns are converted into urban cities and centers without planning which is a threat.
"I believe we are going to come up with a model that we can share for the entire region so that it can be used to guide us for planning," he said.
The Vice-Chairperson of the Kenya National Lands Commission (NLC) Gertrude Nguku said there was a need for planning of cities and towns to ensure sewage, and waste products are not dumped into rivers that end up intoxicating the water and pose a health risk to the lives of people.
She said the government can spend a lot of money to treat cancer but wondered why they could spend a quarter of the same money to plan and prevent such diseases.
"If we can understand how planning is important and I hope this is going to come out and am sure it will in this discussions of high level and am very happy these important people are present to engage in these discussions," she said.
*This article was written by Ramadhan Kambi for Uzalendo News. Email: uzalendonews24@gmail.com to submit your story.
