Busia Governor Paul Otuoma has urged planners to fast track the development of the County’s Spatial plan in order to pave the way for infrastructure development.
According to Otuoma, the County has faced challenges in carrying out development due to lack of proper documents.
“Lack of a spatial plan has hampered development in this county for the last 10 years. Our vision as Busia government is to make Busia a logistic hub. Our geographical position as a gateway to East and Central Africa has a lot to gain but so far there is nothing to show,” he said.
He pointed out that investors found it difficult to invest in the County due to lack of land.
Busia County Assembly Speaker Fredrick Odilo urged the team working on the document to take the local residents through civic education in order to make them understand its content.
“The idea of calling for public participation alone is not enough,” he said, adding that there was a need for civic education in order to help the local residents understand the importance of the document.
Odilo urged planners to develop a spatial plan of more than 10 years so that the County could have meaningful projects.
The representative from the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning Rose Kirui expressed the National government’s commitment to delivering the document before the end of this year if the County government of Busia accords them the necessary support.
“We are determined to deliver this document before December this year but that will only be possible if we get the support we need,” she said.
The County Spatial Plan is being implemented by the Directorate of Physical Planning and Urban Management through the support of the State Department of Lands and Physical Planning.
Its aim is to direct and control development projects within the County.
By Salome Alwanda
