Sikhumbuzo Moyo, [email protected]
GOVERNMENT will reject urban development plans that fail to allocate at least 40 percent of development land to vertical construction, particularly flats, as it moves to curb urban sprawl and protect land for agricultural production.
Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe said this while addressing delegates at the Zimbabwe Regional and Urban Planning annual conference held in Bulawayo recently.
He said urban planners must move away from conventional single-storey developments and embrace vertical construction to promote efficient land use and accommodate the country’s growing population. Minister Garwe said Zimbabwe’s agriculture-based economy could not sustain continued horizontal urban expansion, which was increasingly encroaching on productive agricultural land.
“We are aware that Zimbabwe has got boundaries, just like the Republic of South Africa, Botswana or Zambia. We are an agriculture-based region. Our driving focus in our economies is agriculture.
If we decide to continue building horizontally, expansively eating into agricultural land, the region will become a net importer of food in no time. So what do we do to circumvent that? We must build better vertically,” he said.
Minister Garwe said the National Human Settlements Policy requires 40 percent of land for development to be reserved for flats, warning that development plans that fail to meet the requirement would not be approved.
“If there is any plan without that provision, that plan will be struck off the register without negotiation. I am now barking orders as the Minister of Local Government and Public Works. We must set aside 40 percent of our land for development for the construction of flats,” he said.
Minister Garwe said the shift towards vertical development should also extend to commercial infrastructure, including shopping malls, which he said should increasingly adopt multi-storey designs instead of occupying extensive tracts of land.
He challenged urban planners to take the lead in designing modern, orderly, inclusive, safe and resilient settlements that respond to the country’s changing housing needs.
Minister Garwe said thousands of young people graduating from universities every year needed decent accommodation, making it important for planners to prioritise housing provision for the youth.
“We have youngsters, youth graduating from universities in their thousands or tens of thousands every year who are looking forward to accommodation. If we don’t provide that accommodation, they will blame us. Planners, please take leadership in ensuring that your plans speak to the provision of housing for the youth,” he said.
The Minister said urban planning should go beyond expanding residential settlements to creating economic opportunities and supporting industrial development, agriculture, tourism, trade and investment.
He said local authorities had a critical role in improving residents’ everyday lives through effective planning, budgeting, infrastructure investment and performance monitoring.
Access to clean water, reliable roads, efficient refuse collection, functional drainage systems, decent housing and accessible public services were among the practical ways residents experienced good governance, he said.
Minister Garwe said special development plans should guide public investment to ensure that housing, roads, water supplies, sanitation facilities, schools, clinics and other social amenities were provided in a coordinated manner.
He also called for national development planning to extend beyond major cities to secondary cities, small towns and rural service centres, which have the potential to stimulate economic activity and provide essential goods and services.
“Our main goal, our main objective together with other professionals, is to build settlements that are safe, secure, functional, orderly, inclusive and resilient. Nothing more than that,” he said.
Minister Garwe said Zimbabwe needs future-oriented settlements that embrace modern development approaches while being resilient to the effects of climate change.
