February 12, 2024 (Public Communication and Media Relations)

Turkana inched closer to concluding the second edition of its ten-year County Spatial Plan for 2023-2033 after firms from the UK and United Arab Emirates pledged to offer technical assistance to the County in fast-tracking the process.

Following a meeting chaired by the Executive for Lands, Housing, Urban Areas and Physical Planning Peter Akono, the parties agreed to join efforts towards producing a document that integrates responses and concerns raised during the public participation stage.

CEC Akono emphasized the County’s aspiration for a Spatial Plan that was sufficiently inclusive to allow digitisation of services, formation of industrial estates, development of infrastructure, and space for cultural practices such as nomadic pastoralism.

Noting that the Spatial Plan was a necessary document to comply with the provision of the Urban Areas and Cities Act of 2012 and a tool for guiding investments and budgets, CEC Akono called on the project consultant to take advantage of the assistance from the two firms to speed up the process.

The project consultants team led by Dr. Moses Kola welcomed the technical assistance and clarified that the focus was on providing a progressive document that allows for sustainable growth of urban centers and productive utilization of land in Turkana.

Chief Officer for Lands and Physical Planning, Leah Losuru, said that the assistance would ensure that the project objectives were fully met.

Davis Munialo (Director of Physical Planning) was present.

Geoffrey Kibet (Consultant representative), Stephen Velegrinins, Osman Fathalla, and Sophie Mockett (UAE) were also present.