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Physical planners' body warns on quacks as new Council is elected

29th Apr, 2024 Economy
Physical planners' body warns on quacks as new Council is elected

Members of the Society of Professional Physical Planners of Uganda have elected new leaders as the government moves in to crackdown on imposters in the physical planning field.

Charles Nampendho, who was elected to lead the nine-member Council, decried the inadequate funding to the physical planning function saying he would lobby the Government to allocate enough funds for better service delivery.

He added that given Uganda's population growth trends, organising them is the role of the physical planners but they lack the resources to do a thorough job.

  • "The new leadership will increase accountability for the works of physical planners and eliminate shoddy physical planners," he said.

The new Council membership also includes; Martin Kigozi (treasurer) and Moses Ogutu (secretary), Hafsa Namuli, Polycarp Ejotu, Eric Nagosia, Stella Mudondo, Amanda Ngabirano, who chairs the National Physical Planning Board, and Vicent Byandaimira, are ex-officio members.

The new team replace the interim executive council, which was commissioned by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development last year under Section 23 (5) of the Physical Planners Registration Act 2023, mandating them to organise elections within one year.

  • Physical planning, also known as urban planning, is the process of designing and organizing the physical layout of cities, towns, and other urban areas. It involves making decisions about the use of land, transportation systems, infrastructure, and buildings so as to achieve specific social, economic, and environmental goals.

Ngabirano warned unscrupulous physical planners who have been engaging in poor planning practices, resulting in the development of poor development plans, unethical planning practices, and violations of minimum physical planning standards.

"Planning has been happening, but with a lot of quacks who do substandard physical planning work. There are imposters masquerading as professional physical planners, yet they are not," Ngabirano said.

Unqualified physical planners can pose significant dangers as they may lack the expertise to make informed decisions, leading to poorly designed and managed environments, inadequate infrastructure, and increased risks to public safety and environmental degradation.

In 2020, the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development introduced the Physical Planners Registration Bill, 2020, to Parliament to address the challenge of errant physical planners and other challenges facing the physical planning field.

  • The Bill was successfully passed by Parliament, and President Museveni has already assented to it. The Physical Planners' Registration Act, among others, established the Physical Planners Registration Board and also provides for the registration of physical planners, and disciplinary procedures for errant members.

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