The agreement to admit the association with 300 members was signed on 23rd June 2022 on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2022 held in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.
Joining the association presents huge opportunities ranging from sharing of expertize, execution of joint projects and partnerships with colleagues from different countries.
Urban planners association is among bodies providing technical support for preparations and implementation of master plans across different sectors.
These include master plans in the areas of agriculture, transport, water distribution, tourism, climate change mitigation resulting from growing population demography.
Evariste Nsabimana Barahira, one of urban planners has told IGIHE that the government works with the association and other relevant institutions to make thorough planning enabling residents to settle on small land aligning with the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) and other master plans.
He went on to explain that joining international associations presents enormous opportunities, which include among other things, the sharing of experiences with counterparts.
“We shall meet for discussions and share knowledge. We shall execute joint projects and work together in capacity building initiatives. There are tenders requiring international competencies where partners might intervene to fill the gap,” Barahira said.
Rwanda has a rapid urbanization and plans to increase the current urban settlements from 18.4% to 70% by 2050.
Protais Mpayimana, the Division Manager of Urban and Rural Planning at Rwanda Land Management and Use Authority (RLMUA) has said that joining international associations will help planners to play a vital role in the country’s development.
“We need experts in urban planning so that we can develop these towns with appropriate master plan and avoid informal settlements. We need to share expertize with other cities with advanced development,” he noted.
Mpayimana has also disclosed that urban planners will stand chance to upgrade their knowledge to gain international competencies through sharing of expertize with countries from the East African Community (EAC) and Commonwealth.
“It is essential for the association to work with others to gain prowess to ensure smooth urban planning,” he stated.
Dr. Merard Mpabwanamaguru, Kigali City Vice-Mayor in charge of urbanization and infrastructure has observed that establishing firm urban and rural planning associations sharing expertize regularly, discussing ways to enhance use of land would be fundamental to the development of Rwanda and East Africa’s cities.
He underscored that the association will help Kigali and districts to make proper planning and enhance smooth implementation of master plans.
Dr. Mpabwanamaguru said that the recent development is a great milestone to shape the future of Rwanda’s urbanization as one of members of Commonwealth and EAC.
The State Minister in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Eng. Patricie Uwase has expressed optimism that the expansion of such associations will pave the way for green urbanization.
“Joining Commonwealth gives us more strength because engaging in discussions with different experts helps to identify gaps, learn from each other’s approaches with a view to continue accelerating urban development,” she said.
Considering rapid growth of cities in EAC; Kelley Moore, the Commonwealth Secretary-General of the Association of Planners (CAP) stressed the urgent need for shared knowledge, tools and skills among planners ‘so that cities and human settlements are inclusive, safe and resilient’.
The association of planners seeks to draw much emphasis promoting participation of citizens in master plans to become more meaningful to national development.
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