Unplanned rural building threatens development

EZULWINI – Uncontrolled construction along new rural roads could leave Eswatini with poorly planned settlements and costly infrastructure problems, Housing Minister Apollo Maphalala has warned.

Speaking at the second Eswatini Urban Forum at Ezulwini Palazzo, Maphalala said urbanisation in Eswatini was increasingly driven by rural communities developing into urban areas rather than people moving from rural areas to established towns.

He said major government investments in roads, including the MR14 and MR21 projects, were encouraging settlement expansion along transport corridors without adequate planning.

Maphalala warned that building major roads without a comprehensive National Spatial Planning Framework could result in disorganised settlements that would make it difficult and expensive to provide essential infrastructure, particularly sewerage systems.

He said consultations with traditional leaders in the Lubombo and Manzini regions had revealed strong demand for administrative support to establish formal spatial planning frameworks.

Maphalala warned that without structured systems for allocating land at community level, traditional land availability and local governance arrangements could be undermined.

He said the ministry was working with the World Bank on an urbanisation review to help guide national investment and development.

The minister urged rural and urban stakeholders to work together on planning solutions to prevent uncoordinated development from spreading across the country.

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