Senegal should soon adopt a new road map in the field of territorial planning. This is the desire displayed yesterday by the President of the Republic who challenged his Government on the redefinition of a new policy of town planning, architecture, housing and housing promotion.
“The policy of urban planning, architecture, housing and housing promotion, with a view to the materialization of Vision Senegal 2050, reveals the urgency of accelerating territorial planning, the development of our terroirs as well as the modernization of our municipalities and cities from the Poles” indicated President Bassirou Diomaye Faye yesterday in the Council of Ministers. He asked the Minister of Urban Planning, Territorial Communities and Territorial Planning to ensure the updating and/or generalization of urban master plans in all municipalities and cities in Senegal. “This imperative planning exercise is fundamental for controlling urban development and accelerating the coherence and rigor of the developments in the implementation of the housing policy and the promotion of social housing in particular” in the opinion of the president of the Republic. So in this wake, he instructed the Minister of Urban Planning, Territorial Communities and Territorial Planning to ensure the strict application of harmonized architectural rules in each commune and city in Senegal. In this regard, he invited the Government to work with the Order of Architects to propose a new legal and regulatory framework for the implementation of Senegal’s new architecture policy. With a view to a dynamic of overhauling the town planning, construction and housing policy, the President of the Republic urged the Government to continue efforts to promote construction to standards for housing, buildings and buildings with the rigorous application of town planning, construction, sanitation and environmental codes mainly, control of coastal developments and occupations, the contribution of the National Reference Laboratory for Buildings and Public works which ensures the approval of materials and products used in the construction sector and guarantees the quality and conformity of constructions, the integration of a requirement for landscaping and green spaces in neighborhoods and homes and initial and continuing professional training for construction workers in specialized schools and institutes.
Emergency deployment of social housing promotion programs
Furthermore, the Head of State indicated the urgency of accelerating the national deployment of programs to promote social housing. To this end, he asked the Prime Minister to relaunch social housing construction programs in suitable areas supported by subdivisions, development plans and occupancy titles officially validated after ongoing land and real estate audits. The Government will also have to propose sustainable solutions to accelerate the promotion of decent housing through the design of consensual restructuring and urban renovation plans and work to modernize housing in rural areas. He invited the Prime Minister and the Government to make decent housing a national cause from the year 2025.
The Minister of Urban Planning and the Secretary of State for Housing will provide a monthly update in the Council of Ministers on the implementation of the housing policy. In this spirit, he asked the Prime Minister and the Minister in charge of Urban Planning to set, for the next three (3) years, the mission letter and the intervention framework of the Land Development and Urban Restructuring Company (SAFRU), an entity which must have land and financial resources adapted to a viable economic model. Furthermore, it is appropriate to evaluate the Guarantee Fund for Housing Access (FOCALOG) and the application of the orientation law n° 2016-31 of November 8, 2016 on social housing with the system of the Fund for Social Housing (FHS). The Government will also work to revive urban centers and concerted development zones to facilitate access to land and real estate ownership with the assistance of the 3 banks and financial establishments (CDC in particular, etc.). In this momentum, paramount importance will be given to the priority development of the urban center of Diamniadio and Lac Rose which are beginning to host world-class hotel infrastructure.
