State to revise town planning

GOVERNMENT is revising the housing development law to facilitate for low-income housing and upgrading unplanned areas, Ministry of Local Government and Housing principal planner Meembo Changula says.
Ms Changula said the current law is outdated, complex and not in line with current planning trends.
She said this recently at the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) book dissemination seminar dubbed ‘Building prosperity from resource wealth’.
“The revision of the town and country planning legislation will provide a framework for planning of development in cities and towns, [it will look at] the amount of available land for residential purposes, plot sizes and the permitted scale of development,” she said.
Ms Changula said the current law also has development gaps while lack of a clear policy and legal framework has resulted in the continued increase in urbanisation.
She said the soon-to-be-revised law will improve living conditions of residents especially among the urban poor by enabling them get access to land and security of tenure.
Once in effect, the law will result in the provision of municipal services as this will be supported by a harmonised legal framework in planning towns and providing houses in urban areas.
Ms Changula said provision of decent housing can be achieved through government policy that addresses affordable housing.
She said provision of opportunities for income, support infrastructure and clarity in legal rights for the public will result in majority Zambians having access to decent accommodation.
Zambia’s housing deficit is estimated at about 1.3 million houses.

Zambia Daily Mail