Bulawayo City Council

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City conductsMaster Plan Review

The City of Bulawayo is currently reviewing its operative Master Plan (2000-2015) and preparing the Bulawayo Master Plan for (2019-2034) through Town Planning Consultants Job Jika & Associates (Pvt) Ltd

The Local Authority on the 9th December 2020 held its second Master Plan stakeholder consultative meeting at the Small City Hall, an occasion that was graced by Hon Judith Ncube, Bulawayo Metropolitan Province Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution.

Speaking to Masiye Phambili, the Acting Town Planning Director Mr Wisdom Siziba said “a Master plan is a dynamic long-term statutory planning policy document that provides a conceptual layout to guide future growth and development of the whole city. It is about making the connection between buildings, social settings, and their surrounding environments. A Master plan includes analysis, recommendations, and proposals for the city’s population, economy, housing, transportation, community facilities, and land use.”

He added that it is based on public input, surveys, planning initiatives, existing development, physical characteristics, and social and economic conditions.

According to Section 14(1) of the Regional Town, Country and Planning Act 29 - 12, a local planning authority may at any time and shall, if so directed by the Minister and within such period as he may direct or any extension thereof granted by him, whether before or after the expiration of such period, prepare and submit to the Minister a master plan in respect of the area for which it is the local planning authority or for such part of that area as the Minister may specify. The Master Plan Review consists of the study report which describes the status quo of the area, the written statement which provides a framework and sets out key issues of the vision for Bulawayo as well as a series of goals and objectives and strategies for achieving them accompanied by maps, diagrams, illustrations and descriptive matter which the Local planning Authority considers appropriate.

Presenting in the meeting, the Consultant Tiseetso Dube noted that the operational Master Plan for Bulawayo was prepared in year 2000 which was a review of the 1982 Master Plan, the first such plan produced in Zimbabwe under the then 1976, Regional, Town and Country Planning Act. He further added that the operational Master Plan is more than nineteen years old and the physical, economic, social and environmental conditions upon which the plan’s proposal were premised had changed and hence new planning challenges and issues have emerged.

According to Zimstats and Bulawayo City Council population projections, Bulawayo will be having 1 524 899 people by the end of 2034 and land needs will be as follows; Residential -16 741 ha; Employment,-6 693 ha; Open Space-3 468 ha; Social and Community 1 093 ha. The total land needs from 2019-2034 will be 27 995 hectares. The presentation noted that despite the fact that there exists some developable land (12 350 ha) within the current Municipal boundary, the Master Plan will need to identify and allocate (13 145 ha) land outside the existing Municipal boundary to meet the projected land requirements over the plan period.

Moreover, three (3) spatial growth and development options were available for the City with option 2 being adopted. Options two called for the expansion of the Master Plan boundary full utilization of land within the existing Municipal boundary prior to expansion outside. The growth option adopted is expressed diagrammatically;

The key goals to achieve the master Plan Objectives are:

  • To ensure the availability of suitable land to meet the future needs of Bulawayo until 2034
  • To establish a strong and sustainable local economic base in Bulawayo
  • To ensure that provision is made for adequate Social and Community facilities to meet the city's needs during the plan period
  • To make provision for an efficient transportation system that meets the needs of the people during the plan period
  • To develop Bulawayo into an environmentally conscious and environmentally sustainable city and finally to establish a forward thinking management for Bulawayo with adequate resources to meet the development needs of the city.

The Minister of State for Provincial Affairs, Honourable Judith Ncube urged all Stakeholders to come together to ensure the success of the Master Plan and to plan for natural disasters such as flooding experienced in the Cowdray park suburb.

After the Master Plan has been adopted by Council, but before submitting it to the Minister of Local Government, will be placed on public exhibition for two months whereby a copy of the draft master plan with a statement indicating the time within which objections to, or representations in connection with, the draft master plan may be made to the Minister, with copies thereof being sent to the local planning authority; and public will be given notice of the place or places at which, and the period for which, the draft master plan will be exhibited in terms of paragraph (a) and the time within which objections to, or representations in connection with, the draft master plan may be made in terms of paragraph.

Please visit our website at www.citybyo.co.zw for the draft Master Plan

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