An urban planning policy for the East African Community (EAC) will create a network for the allocation of investment and for the production and sale of most goods and services once adopted, a regional parliamentarian said.

MP Nancy Abisai earlier this month urged the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) to adopt a motion in support of an urban planning policy for the bloc, with view to empower the urban poor.

Shortly before the motion was adopted, the Kenyan lawmaker told the Assembly that poor urban governance and inappropriate policy frameworks contribute to the vulnerability of the urban poor.

Corruption, inappropriate policies, and cumbersome regulatory requirements in EAC cities, she said, lead to deprivations such as inadequate infrastructure and environmental services, limited access to school and health care and social exclusion.

"Better urban governance is, therefore, a necessary condition for empowering the urban poor and improving their opportunities and security,” Abisai said.

"Urban planning will reduce social inequality. Social and economic inequalities are apparent in urban areas and are growing in all the cities in the EAC partner states and can lead to social and political clashes.”

Augustin Rwomushana, Director of Urban Economic Development in the City of Kigali, told The New Times last week that EALA’s resolution is a catalyst for increasing urban network of regional cities, towns, and villages encompassing all aspects of the environment within which societies’ economic and social interactions take place.

Rwomushana added: "Nationally, the resolution will create a network for the allocation of investment and for the production and sale of most goods and services.”

According to Abisai, in order to mitigate such challenges as including large-scale health and environmental problems, the region has to develop an urban strategy that shall guide partner states to focus on creating livable cities that are able to fully tap their productive potential and deliver on their promise of development for all.

She added, "This requires that cities be efficiently managed, and are economically competitive and financially viable. And while cities are in an increasingly important position to maintain social cohesion and drive productivity within countries, most still need to catch up with infrastructure and housing deficiencies and take needed steps toward sustainable urban management.”

Among others, Abisai requested the House to urge the EAC Council of Ministers to convene a regional conference on habitat to harmonise ideas and have a common EAC position on the Habitat 111 agenda.

"Habitat III” is shorthand for a major global summit, the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, to be held in Quito, Ecuador, in October.

The conference is the third in a series that began in 1976, to bolster global political commitment to the sustainable development of human settlements, both rural and urban.

Asked how easy it is to coordinate urban development matters in the region, among other things, Rwomushana noted that it is important that such plans be long term and integrated. Urban plans and policies should reflect the pace of urban development, not elections, he explained.

He added, "All regional residents should have the right to the cities; ability to participate in planning, development, and evolution of the spaces they live in and open, just, and uncorrupted political and legal institutions.”

Rwomushana further said that an accelerated and robust decentralisation process is essential.

"Central governments must determine which powers should devolve to local governments, and find ways to share resources in flexible ways that permit urban centres to fulfill their responsibilities in respect to urban development.”

Among others, he recommends strengthening public sector capacity.

To ably coordinate urban development matters in the region, Rwomushana said, central governments need to be led and staffed by people who understand the complexities of land use and transit planning, housing policy, and social service delivery, as well as how each of these areas interact and overlap.

"Public officials and staff need to understand how to leverage resources across all the sectors, how to create and execute complex transactions, and how to maximise the benefits of new technologies.”

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