BUJUMBURA November 29th (ABP) – The Cabinet meeting was held on Wednesday November 24, 2021 with 6 items on the agenda including the draft decree updating the master plan for development and urbanization of the city of Gitega by 2050 and that bearing the perimeter of the city of Gitega.
According to the press release from the General Secretary of State, with the proclamation of the city of Gitega as the political capital, the people could drop, by 2050, from one to five times. The realization of the master plan of development and urbanization of the city of Gitega by 2050 becomes, therefore, one of the first urgencies, in order to have a legal instrument, in order to avoid an uncontrolled urbanization. The establishment of this plan and its zoning were developed while respecting the balance between the zones intended for different activities. The master plan for development and urbanization of the town of Gitega dates from 1986, hence the need for its updating. In total, 4,800 hectares of areas to be urbanized have been identified for the next thirty years, and the potential for hosting is around 405,000 inhabitants.
The innovative features in that scheme are among others that all the national roads entering the town of Gitega will be double lane, the double lanes will be designed in such a way as to reserve cycle paths and for pedestrians, the road connecting the town of Gitega to Bugendana airport will be double-lane and the areas to be protected will be bypassed by runways.
The press release indicates that this master plan does not envisage annexing the territories of the border communes of the current commune of Gitega to modify the administrative limits in place, but rather envisages clearing the new limits of the urban perimeter of the city of Gitega projected in 2050, in order to ensure better planning.
At the end of the debate on these two projects, the Cabinet meeting adopted them with the recommendation to refer to the master plan of the city of Gitega of 1986 by including it in the visas, and for the implementation of the new diagram, make an inventory of the areas to be developed to find out what exists and facilitate compensation, if necessary. It will also be necessary to prohibit any new activity in these sectors without prior authorization from the competent services.
Other recommendations are, among others, to put in place a text that regulates servicing by integration, officially prohibit new buyers to build without the approval of the Planning and Urbanization Commission and validation of plans according to the type of district, avoid donating plots but rather build key houses according to the standings and take accompanying measures so that this scheme does not fall into oblivion as was the case for the city of Bujumbura.