Our towns still stuck in outdated infrastructure – Director Planning.

Director of Planning and Statistics Mr. Isaac Kamande during the launch of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Thika Sub-County on Wednesday.

The Director of Planning and Statistics Mr. Isaac Kamande has attributed the myriads of infrastructural challenges faced by most urban centres in the country to outdated and uncoordinated modes of planning.

Kamande said that the main reason why the current county governments were faced with chaotic development structures in infrastructure, drainage and provision of essential services to their people was because the leaders were still stuck in ubiquitous age-old pattern of planning.

While speaking on behalf of his PS Mr. Wilson Nyakera Irungu at the Starehe Grounds Thika on Wednesday during the launch of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Thika Sub-County, the director challenged governors to develop robust spatial development frameworks to guide them in their urban and regional development planning.

“County governments should adequately prepare for any upsurge in population growth in towns and urban centres. All these problems we are facing in infrastructure, poor service delivery and housing is as a result of poor planning, being stuck to outdated development plans and old legal-organisational models of management,” he said.

He pointed out, for instance, land use management and development control that he said has long been highly problematic due to uncoordinated planning. The director noted that in the modern world, towns should ideally grow upwards as opposed to horizontally due to scarcity of land and to maximise the available space for development.

“There is a need to redevelop our towns. Structures such as these (JAMOFASTA houses) should be replaced with modern flats and skyscrapers that will accommodate more people and spar growth,” said Kamande.

He called upon governors to rethink the role of planning in promoting sustainable and equitable growth and decongesting their urban centres through comprehensive infrastructural development and the adoption of varied travel models. He further stated that the greatest challenge was not about lack of resources but finding the right opportunities for intervention and taking actual action.

“Due to the magnitude of the urban challenges it is importance to take advantage of strategic partnerships with other government agencies and private investors in order to harness the knowledge and best practices that exist in the urban development sphere to inspire an era of urban regeneration,” said the director.