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Innocent Ruwende Senior Reporter—
Harare City Council has approved a $3 million supplementary revenue budget to finance the review of the Harare Combination Master Plan (HCMP) and other local development plans which have outlived their lifespan. According to recent minutes of the Environment Management Committee, Works director Engineer Phillip Pfukwa said there was need to review the City Centre Local Development Plan, Southern Incorporated Areas Local Development Plan, Lochinvar Local Development Plan and to prepare the South Western High Density Areas Local Development Plan.

Eng Pfukwa told councillors that the funds will also be used to procure vehicles, plan printing equipment, computers and global position systems equipment to use in the review of the local plans.

“There were no funds provided in the current budget and the director of works was seeking approval of a supplementary capital budget,” he said. “The director of works explained that the HCMP guided development and land use for seven local authorities and has to be up to date with current matters within the city and its hinterlands.

“The HCMP became operative in 1994 and since then, it had not been reviewed. In terms of Section 13 of the Regional, Town and County Planning Act (Chapter 29:12), the Local Planning Authority was required to keep under review matters within its planning area.

“Accordingly, the HCMP should be reviewed every 15 years, but since it became operative 23 years to date, the Master Plan had not been reviewed and had exhausted its lifespan.”

Although the master plan has exhausted its lifespan, some of its provisions have not been implemented and its review would enable the local authority to implement those proposals which were still applicable to the current challenges.

Eng Pfukwa told councillors that the circumstances within the city and its surrounding areas had changed since the Master Plan was prepared 23 years ago, hence the need to review it to address current and emerging issues and open up opportunities for new investment into the city.

He said a review of the City Centre Local Development Plan would enable the city to open up investment opportunities, as the city centre was suffering from urban decay, leading to the flight of business from CBD to areas outside the city centre, a situation which had affected the property market.

The master plan for the southern areas was approved in 1997 and had not been reviewed since then.

Eng Pfukwa said there were also a number of illegal settlements within the boundaries of local plan which needed to be addressed.

The Lochinvar plan was approved in 1993, while the south western plan needed to be reviewed to control premature urban sprawling into surrounding agriculture zones.