The Fourth Schedule of the Constitution of Kenya confers the role of spatial/land use planning to the County Governments. Additionally, the County Government Act of 2012 requires each County Government to prepare a ten-year GIS-based County Spatial (Development) Plan (CSP) in respect of the entire area of jurisdiction of the County.
The CSP is defined within Section 110 of the Act as a geo-referenced plan that is a spatial depiction of the County Sector Strategies and County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP), providing a broad framework for organizing and distributing population and activities in the County for the achievement of both national and county development objectives.
It also serves the purpose of enabling the County government to strengthen the coordination of sectoral projects and programs to mitigate duplication of efforts and waste of scarce resources. The CSP mainstreams the national level plans in terms relevant to the County, and at the same time guides in the down streaming the preparation of lower-level plans. The CSPs are envisioned to allow for the realization of fundamental rights and freedoms as enshrined in Chapter 4 of the Constitution on the bill of rights.
Additionally, CSP is intended to allow for the holding, use and management of land in a manner that is equitable, efficient, productive and sustainable, as outlined in Article 60 of the Constitution. The CSP also serves as a tool to enable the State to regulate the use of any land or any interest in, or right over any land, in the interest of land use planning, as outlined in Article 66 of the Constitution.
The County Government of Laikipia is in the initial stages of development of its first CSP. It will be used to provide strategic guidance in respect to the location and nature of development within the County.
Moreover, the Rumuruti Municipality has embarked on the development of its municipal spatial plan which is the legal instrument in Kenya for commercial, industrial and residential development using a zoning approach. The urban zonation plans are managed by the municipality for a period of ten years and are subject to the mid-term review
The municipality has had engagements with different stakeholders from both the Government and private sector in the development of its municipal plan.
Stay tuned for more developments on this critical tool of County planning.
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