80 PERCENT OF URBAN CENTRES IN TANZANIA MAINALAND HAVE NO MASTER PLANS

 http://www.dailynews.co.tz/index.php/local-news/45480-80pc-of-urban-centres-lack-masterplans

 

Published on Monday, 01 June 2015 02:28

Written by DAILY NEWS Reporter

The CAG, Professor Mussa Assad.

ABOUT 80 per cent of urban centres in Tanzania Mainland are operating without master plans, according to the Controller and Auditor General (CAG)’s performance report.

The CAG, Professor Mussa Assad, states that at the moment about 65 per cent of towns do not have general planning schemes and 35 per cent do not have update programmes.

“This entails that low priority was given to urban planning activities by both central and local governments,” the CAG states in his annual performance report on the management of urban planning in Tanzania.

Prof Assad reveals that some planning authorities did not have schemes since they were established, while others did not update their schemes from the time when the previous schemes became expired.

According to the CAG, most planning authorities in the country have no general planning schemes and those with general schemes do not update or prepare new schemes after the expiry of the old ones.

He states that although various strategies were employed by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development and Prime Minister’s Office Regional Administration and Local Government in addressing urban planning problems, most of them focused on infrastructure development.

Equally, the CAG states, the strategies were not comprehensive and articulated within the broader planning schemes. Despite the Tanzania Strategic Cities Project (2010-2015) having a component for preparing general planning schemes (master plans|), Prof Assad states that the planning authorities visited did not take on board the opportunity to prepare master plans for their towns.

The CAG, therefore, recommends that the Prime Minister’s Office should ensure that planning authorities are developing and reviewing general and detailed planning schemes within their areas of jurisdiction by including them in their strategic planning.

He also suggests the development of a mechanism that would manage utilisation of funds obtained from plot allocation projects for the purpose of ensuring sustainability of the projects.

On part of the ministry, the CAG recommend development programmes that would guide and assist the planning authorities in developing planning schemes and decentralise responsibilities for preparation and implementation of general planning schemes.