Sierra Leone: Freetown House Planning – what went wrong? Without doubt, Sierra Leoneans are among some of the finest and most intelligent people in Africa but they could deliberately become something else. Freetown is currently congested and/or overpopulated with poor housing planning – what went wrong? Town planning was first introduced in the Housing Town Planning Act 1909 followed by the Housing Act 1923, which provided that account or consideration should be taken of the architectural and historic characteristics within a vicinity/area. This provision was strengthened in the Town and Country Planning Acts 1932 and 1944. However, it was the Town and Country Planning Act 1947 that would have genuinely put Sierra Leone’s planning and conservation into place and set the scene for modern system of planning like Britain, South Africa, Abuja, and Ghana have today. The right laws to govern the nation are already there, but an effective enforcement system of these laws is lacking. The architects of the Sea – View Estate in Goderich, Freetown (see pictures below) implement the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the Planning and Compensation Act 1991, the Planning Act 1990, and the Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 1990, hence the sight of the estate is amazing to behold. The present poor house planning in Freetown today is as a result of ‘the lack of the Housing Planning Act enforcement’. Development is defined in section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 as the carrying out of the following operations: Engineering, Mining, Building, Material change of use, Use of a single dwelling house for two or more separate dwellings, deposit of waste in a dump, installation of a tank, and installation of an advertisement hoarding (billboard). With the rapid development of Sierra Leone within 7 years, when our laws are enforced without compunction, nepotism, despotism, and favouritism, Sierra Leone could be a replica of the west!
Posted on: Tue, 22 Apr 2014 16:07:24 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015