Advisory town planning boards replaced
It is hoped that decisions on town development will be sped up by the implementation of the new Urban and Regional Planning Act.
LEANDREA LOUW
WALVIS BAY
The Namibia Planning Advisory Board (Nampab) and the Townships Board have been replaced in terms of the new Urban and Regional Planning Act.
This was announced by the deputy minister of urban and rural development, Derek Klazen, at a groundbreaking ceremony for 20 houses for residents of the Otweya informal settlement in Walvis Bay.
“This Act is already operational. The ministry is busy consulting to appoint a national board for the urban and regional planning board. This board replaces the Nampab and the Townships Board,” Klazen explained.
Towns with a registered town planner can apply to be part of this newly established body.
“This new Act will ensure that towns that have registered town planners can process town planning related matters faster.”
Regulations gazetted
Klazen said the acts governing the two previous boards originated from 1956 and 1963. “The two boards are advisory boards to the minister. A few years ago, it was decided through an act of parliament to replace these two boards with a Namibian board, which is the Urban and Regional Planning Act. This Act was promulgated two years ago, but the regulations were outstanding.”
He said the regulations were gazetted about a month ago, allowing the Act to become operational.
“The replacement of the two boards means that certain decisions can now be processed faster. The issue was that Nampab and the Townships Board took too long to approve decisions relating to town planning matters. Some decisions took years to receive certain approvals from these two boards as the process is a lengthy one.” An example of the delayed process by the two boards is Farm 37 on the outskirts of Walvis Bay. Despite being in the pipeline since 2016, servicing of land only started this year.
Decentralising decisions
“This Act decentralises many of the functions the two boards initially had,” Klazen said.
Local authorities who do not have registered town planners can cluster together with a regional town planner and the process will also be faster, he added. Walvis Bay municipal chief executive Muronga Haingura welcomed the move, saying that with this act, town planning processes can be done locally. As soon as a council approves a re-zoning or a sub-division, this process can be jump-started and completed locally.”
[email protected]
WALVIS BAY
The Namibia Planning Advisory Board (Nampab) and the Townships Board have been replaced in terms of the new Urban and Regional Planning Act.
This was announced by the deputy minister of urban and rural development, Derek Klazen, at a groundbreaking ceremony for 20 houses for residents of the Otweya informal settlement in Walvis Bay.
“This Act is already operational. The ministry is busy consulting to appoint a national board for the urban and regional planning board. This board replaces the Nampab and the Townships Board,” Klazen explained.
Towns with a registered town planner can apply to be part of this newly established body.
“This new Act will ensure that towns that have registered town planners can process town planning related matters faster.”
Regulations gazetted
Klazen said the acts governing the two previous boards originated from 1956 and 1963. “The two boards are advisory boards to the minister. A few years ago, it was decided through an act of parliament to replace these two boards with a Namibian board, which is the Urban and Regional Planning Act. This Act was promulgated two years ago, but the regulations were outstanding.”
He said the regulations were gazetted about a month ago, allowing the Act to become operational.
“The replacement of the two boards means that certain decisions can now be processed faster. The issue was that Nampab and the Townships Board took too long to approve decisions relating to town planning matters. Some decisions took years to receive certain approvals from these two boards as the process is a lengthy one.” An example of the delayed process by the two boards is Farm 37 on the outskirts of Walvis Bay. Despite being in the pipeline since 2016, servicing of land only started this year.
Decentralising decisions
“This Act decentralises many of the functions the two boards initially had,” Klazen said.
Local authorities who do not have registered town planners can cluster together with a regional town planner and the process will also be faster, he added. Walvis Bay municipal chief executive Muronga Haingura welcomed the move, saying that with this act, town planning processes can be done locally. As soon as a council approves a re-zoning or a sub-division, this process can be jump-started and completed locally.”
[email protected]
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