Lamu unveils 10-year plan to re-organise town centres

Lamu has launched a 10-year spatial plan, becoming the first county to take a step aimed at reorganising its urban centres.

Governor Issa Timamy and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) top officials launched the plan last week at Mkunguni Square in Lamu.

The WWF was a major player in the preparation of the Sh30 million plan, which took two years to prepare.

Other partners are the Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Forest Service, National Land Commission and Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport Corridor Development Authority.

The Lamu County Spatial Plan, which runs up to 2026, seeks to improve the living standards of residents through job creation, poverty reduction, wealth creation and guide sustainable development.

It also provides policies to solve problems related to rural and urban development, industry, infrastructure human settlement, eco-tourism as well as sustainable environmental management.

The Lamu governor said implementation of the plan would help secure biodiversity, manage natural resources sustainably and improve the well-being of the residents.

“A spatial plan is crucial for any given county since it strengthens the coordination of public projects and mitigates duplication of efforts and waste of resources,” said Mr Timamy.

“The framework will help us to address a myriad of challenges related to land based resources such as human-wildlife conflicts, encroachment on the fragile ecosystem, unplanned settlements and depletion of water sources.”

In a statement, WWF chief executive Mohamed Awer said the plan would also help identify more resources and gauge the ability of the county in utilising them.
He said the WWF would support its implementation.

“I am confident that through this spatial plan, Lamu can forge ahead development-wise,” said Mr Awer.

County Land and Urban Development executive Amina Masoud said the plan would “localise” the strategic national and regional policies.