UGANDA, Kampala | Real Muloodi News | Stakeholders in Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA), including engineers and physical planners, have differing opinions on who should cancel or approve development plans in the city; the Building Committee or the Physical Planning Committee.
In a legal opinion rendered by KCCA manager of legal advisory services, Mr Lony Akena, the Building Control Act (BCA), 2013 entrusts the building committee (BC) with the mandate to approve or reject development applications, not the Physical Planning Committee.
When asked about handling developers who alter approved development plans, Mr Akena said that the Physical Planning Committee (PPC) stopped having jurisdiction over consideration and approval of building operations and enforcement.
However, physical planners are against this interpretation. Physical planners argue that the Physical Planning Act (PPA) 2010 is supreme because they did not scrap it when making the Building Control Regulations 2020 or Building Control Act (BCA) 2013.
They accuse Mr Akena of attacking the physical planning profession and undermining its role in the city’s development.
What the Building Control Act (BCA) Says:
- Section 34 (1) of the Building Control Act (BCA) 2013 states that a person shall not carry out a building operation unless they have a valid building permit issued by the Building Committee (BC).
- Section 40 of the Act says the Building Committee may stop a building operation if a structure doesn’t meet prescribed standards.
- The Building Control Regulations 2020 under Section 28 also gives the Building Committee the power to demolish illegal structures.
“It therefore follows that any person who wishes to carry out a building operation must get a building permit issued by the Building Committee (BC),” commented Mr Akena.
What the Physical Planning Act (PPA) Says:
- Physical planners cite Section 33 of the PPA 2010, which allows them to guide developments and land use in the city.
“Physical planning transcends individual structures. Without it Kampala would plunge into uncoordinated planning,” said Mr Villey Agaba, KCCA senior physical planner for Central Division.
According to Mr Agaba, PPA and BCA correlate, and that is why an applicant needs PPC approval to get a building permit.
Mr Agaba says, “A full section [on development control] in the PPA 2010” and “Section 55 of the BCA 2013” require “deeper interpretation and guidance from the Solicitor General.”
“The laws should be read concurrently and applied concurrently. A one stop centre of technical officers with all players as was in the past (technical review team) should be established to not only limit deviations but even illegal structures as the process will be simplified,” he said.
When a building in Kisenyi collapsed and killed six people last month, investigators discovered physical planners had it on a red list, but were powerless to demolish it.
“You can’t issue a building permission regarding land use and then be excluded from deciding whether to demolish a structure if it doesn’t meet standards. The Building Committee can advise on how the demolition should be done but not to exclude physical planners from causing demolition of an illegal structure,” said a physical planner, who preferred anonymity.
Mr Agaba warned that all this confusion is only frustrating the work of developers, who get development permission from the Physical Planning Committee only to be rejected by the Building Committee.
Mr Agaba advised that the Physical Planning Committee and Building Committee work together for better and smooth running for urban development.
He also added that KCCA should invest more in human resources and transportation. It would enable quick inspection of developments to identify illegal projects and take them down.
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