‘No professionalism in town planning’, environmental watchdog, SARW, bemoans poor adherence to rules

Southern African Resource Watch (SARW) has called for quality town planning to prevent climate related calamities as tropical cyclone looms.

Recently Green Economy and Environment Minister, Collins Nzovu announced that the tropical cyclone is expected to affect some parts of Zambia, leading to waterlogging and localised flooding between February 22 and 28, 2023.

Episodes of light to moderate rainfall are expected to affect parts of North-Western, Eastern, Central, Copperbelt, Lusaka, Southern, Muchinga, Northern and Luapula Provinces, leading to waterlogging and localised flooding due to saturated soil moisture during the period February 22 to 28, 2023.

SARW Zambia coordinator Edward Lange said as long as short term measures will mitigate the impact of tropical cyclones, there was need to bring professionalism in town planning.

“There is no professionalism in town planning, anyone can build anywhere and anyhow without guidance from relevant authorities and experts and when climate related calamities like the current flooding befalls they start crying foul ,” Lange said.

He said in an interview on Monday that there was need to work on improving quality planning as a lasting measure to insulate properties against tropical cyclones.

Lange said if the country invested in quality of planning and quality infrastructure stakeholders were not going to get worried about the impending tropical cyclones among other climate change induced calamities.

“If we had properly followed quality planning, we are not going to be worried, I am sure most of the substandard structure will be affected. Let us go back to our drawing board,” he said.

Lange observed that some structures that were done before independence do not collapse because they were effectively planned.

He also commended President Hakainde Hichilema for committing his government to afforestation through tree planting.

Lange said he agreed with President Hichilema and said planting two million in the next five would not be enough, hence the need to double up efforts to plant more trees to cope up with ramp deforestation going on in the country.

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