08 Dec 2013

North West District councillors have been called on to familiarise themselves with the revised Town and Country Planning Act 2013.

Addressing a full council meeting, the deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Lands and Housing, Mr Maotoanong Sebina said it was vital that councillors understand the act as the government has taken a decision to give local authorities powers to implement it. He said the act was revised to decentralise the planning process and reduce the length of time taken to process applications for development.

“It is believed that as key stakeholders, you have a major role to play in the implementation of the act. This serves to share with you what ought to be done to prepare for the implementation,” he said.

Mr Sebina noted that the intention was also to address the current lack of ownership of development plans by local authorities and poor participation of communities in the preparation process.

Local authorities know their areas well and are likely to be aware of the needs of the communities they serve, and better placed to prepare development plans for their areas, he added.

The revised act, he said, aims to protect the public from persons who produce sub-standard physical planning work by providing for the qualifications, registration and regulation of physical planners.

He explained that the Town and Country Planning Act of 1977 provides for the management and planning of land in settlements declared planning areas through preparation of development plans for those settlements. Local authorities were delegated to process applications for certain uses at differing levels whilst others are determined by the Town and Country Planning Board, he said.

Mr Sebina informed councillors that the ministry through the Department of Town and Regional Planning (DTRP) and council principal physical planners has prepared guidelines for operationalising the revised act as a way of facilitating smooth implementation.

The guidelines would be the cornerstone against which they would remind themselves whether they were on the right track or not. The revised act, he said, delegates to the local authorities the adjudication of all applications for planning permission, serving of enforcement notices, preparation of local development plans and detailed layout plans as well as production of maps.

It also proposes to change the appeal system and make it more transparent. Mr Sebina said appeals emanating from the decisions of the committees would be adjudicated by land tribunals instead of the minister.

He said the act empowers local authorities to establish physical planning committees to consider applications for planning permission and to deal with any other matter delegated by the minister. The first schedule of the act stipulates the constitution and the procedure of the physical planning committees.

The committees would comprise of not less than eight members, two councillors and people drawn from planning, development or environmental areas as determined by the authority.

“You are therefore advised to select competent people into the committees to ensure quality service,” he added. For their part, councillors welcomed the revised act and thanked the ministry for giving local authorities powers to implement it.

However, they raised concern about the delay by the land tribunal to address appeals, saying it takes two to three years for cases to be settled. Concillor Kaukapita Kaukapita requested that land issues be given utmost attention. ENDS