GOVERNMENT MUST SEE PLANNING AS DEVELOPMENT TOOL – ATOPCON

   

The association of town planning consultants of Nigeria has called on all tiers of government to see physical planning as a vital tool for social and economic development. According to the association, the rate of socio-economic advancement of the country has been held down as a result of the attitude displayed planning by policymakers.

The outgoing President of ATOPCON, Mr. Moses Ogunleye, who spoke on the sidelines of the association’s annual general meeting, noted that the country had failed to appreciate the symbiotic relationship existing between economic planning and physical planning. He said, “it has been shown at the global level that countries, which hinged their development strategies on sound physical planning principal, tend to have faster economic growth than those that did not. Now is the time for governments in Nigeria to review their efforts and concern for physical planning. “For instance, if a state government has about 10 towns, it could say it wants to start with two in the first year. It is not about putting figures; it is first of all accepting the value of development plan and knowing what these development plans will costs and do what we call a rolling plan. When you do physical development plans, there are also micro development plans. For instance, in Lagos, if you do a board pland for ikeja, you can do a plan for the central business district but it is better to start with a district or town plan or a master plan”.