Challenges of Urban Plan Implementation in Small Towns of West Showa Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine challenges of urban plan implementation in small towns of Ethiopia, in the case of Babich town West Sowa Zone, Oromia Regional State. Mixed research approaches and cross-sectional design were used. Primary data were collected by using questionnaire, FGD, and KII from residents of the town. Secondary data were collected from published and unpublished documents. Quantitative data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics such as percentage using tables, while qualitative data from FGD and KII were analyzed using thematic analysis method. The result indicated that poor plan implementation was emanated from the establishment of town before plan, socioeconomic issues such as less awareness of the society about the importance of the town plan, lack of budget, lack of skilled man power in the town, and environmental issues such as conflict with surrounding kabeles on paying compensation for land plot. The basic plan of Babich town is not properly implemented. It lacks plan implementing strategy, monitoring, and evaluation. There is irregular and irrational development and also incompatible land uses in the town. The concerned bodies have to preparing implementation guidelines, performing scheduled monitoring and evaluation, providing capacity building by giving training for town plan implementer.

1. Introduction

Urban planning is a design to order the use of land and other physical resources for public interest with objective of increasing the quality of life and well-being of people living in cities [1, 2], or it is a design and regulation of the uses of space that focuses on the physical form, economic functions, and social impacts of the urban environment and on the location of different activities within it [3].

In most countries, urban or spatial planning refers to the planning of the physical structure of development or land use planning [4]. Nadeem and Hameed [5] defined urban planning as the planning of the physical structure of land use. It is also named as city planning or town planning. It is a technical and political process concerned with the development and use of land, protection and use of the environment, public welfare, and the design of the urban environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas such as transportation, communications, and distribution networks. It is the process of developing urban, suburban, and rural areas orderly [6].

Rapid urban explosion is agreed to be the most complex and important socioeconomic and environmental phenomenon that has emerged between the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and urban planning emerged as a scholarly discipline in the 1900s in Great Britain for the first time as academic planning program [7].

Modern-day urban planning in Africa can be traced back to colonial roots [8]. The long tradition of urban planning practice in Eastern Africa indicates that there is an understanding of physical land use planning, which mainly comprised of master planning [9], planning and building standard and regulation, and a system of development control. Master plans, sometimes named as “end-state” plans or “blueprint” plans, refer to the physical plans that depict on a map the future scenario of the town when the plan is fully implemented [10]. Master plan is a tool to guide and manage the growth of cities in a planned manner [5].

Urban planning and implementation experience in Ethiopia has a short history. Review of urban planning practice in the country indicated that less than a quarter of the recognized urban centers have no plans to guide their spatial development. Even those that have plans have difficulty to implement the proposals [10]. The first urban planning practice that was traditional in nature is known to be started in Ethiopia at Entoto during the reign of Menelik II [11].

Regarding its importance, Workineh [12] pointed out that the main importance of urban planning is division of a city into specialized functional quarters; development of commanding central sites for palaces, temples, and civic buildings; and advanced systems of fortification, water supply, and drainage. But urban planning implementation is found at low stage of development in developing countries including Ethiopia [8]. The major cause of poor plan implementation in the country includes lack of accountability, lack of skills, commitment, technical and material capacity of the municipalities, lack of transparency, and lack of awareness at community level.

2. Urban plan and plan implementation challenges

There are many challenges of plan implementation. In line with this, a study conducted by Slaev and Nedovic-Budic [13] in Sofia’s master plan in Bulgaria reviled that large inconsistencies exist between the plan’s overall goals and some of its measures and implementation tools. Among the various challenges the most common are high crime level, unemployment, health issues, poverty, overstretched public facilities/infrastructures, high population density, and poor planning and implementation policies.

Urban plan is a means of smart, liveable, and inclusive development of urban areas for better urban life. It promotes planned development through allocation of plots for various land uses functions in an orderly and rational manner. This helps to make sure efficient utilization of scarce land resource. Because allocation of plots for various land use function is one among the ultimate goals of urban plan preparation and implementation [14].

Studies [15] within the challenges of urban plan implementation indicated that the process of plan implementation effort in Ethiopia is observed to be at its infancy. However, a study conducted by Simie [11] and Jillo [16] indicated that though urban plan is often viewed as positive, it lacks proper implementation. The main cause of poor plan implementation in the country includes lack of accountability, lack of skills (converting map in to the ground), commitment, technical and material capacity of the municipalities, lack of transparency, and lack of awareness at community level. In the same line, Dube [4] conducted study on urban planning and land management challenges in Arba Minch town acknowledged that archaic land information management system, informal land acquisition, corruption, land speculation, and land-related conflicts became the challenges of land management and plan implementation in the town.

Concerning implementation efforts of urban plans within the Oromia region, most urban centers have faced difficulty in implementing the proposed land use plan. Consistent with the implementation report of the OUPI, most of the prepared structure plans for urban centers are failed to transfer graphics into the ground. As a result, most urban plans are left aside or outdated before their implementation [17]. The above-mentioned problems of plan implementation also are true in Babich town. Like most towns of Ethiopia Babich is found at very infancy stage of urbanization. Babich town got the primary basic plan preparation in 2009. The second revised basic plan was done in 2019, when the town is that the capital of newly emerged woreda called Liban-Jawi [18].

Even though some empirical studies are available on urban planning and land management, there is no sufficient study regarding the challenges of urban plan implementation in small towns in Ethiopia in general and in West Showa Zone, Oromia Regional State in particular. Thus, this study contributes to the existing gaps in the study area.

Many small towns in Ethiopia grew without having available urban plan. Like many other small towns in Ethiopia, Babichi town faced difficulty in implementing the basic plan because the town was established before without the basic plan. On the opposite hand, the basic plan by itself has problem, because it fails to include design for social service institutions, which was previously occupied by residential area, This was happened due to unprofessional personnel in municipality who lacks appropriate skill to transfer graphics into the ground. A study by Mulugeta [10] about existing structural plan implementation situation in Injibara town indicates that the main factors that have had impact on the preparation and implementation of urban plans are lack of qualified personnel to prepare and implement urban plans and lack of budget to pay compensation for nearby farmers, which will result in illegal housing practice. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to investigate the challenges of urban plan implementation in small towns of Ethiopia in the case of Babich town, West Shawa Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia.

3. Study area

Babich town is found in West Showa Zone, Liban-Jawi district. It is a seat of the district located at 48 km west from Ambo capital, of West Showa Zone and 176 km from Addis Ababa to the West (Figure 1). It is found between 8⁰58′29″ latitude, North and 37⁰30′45”logitude, East. The average altitude of the town is 2261 m asl.

Figure 1.

Study area map (source, own GIS application).

Babich town has a total area is about 580.72 hectares. It is bounded by Mata-Arba, Lemmichoand Dhoke rivers. These rivers are serving as the boundary of the town and source of potable water, vegetable, and fruit production [18]. It has Woina-Dega agro-ecology. The maximum and minimum mean rainfall ranges from 1500 to 2000 mm and from 500 to 900 mm, respectively. The town has the highest annual mean temperature of 28°C, while the lowest is 16°C [19].

The total population of Babich town is about 12,348, and of this 6170 is males and 6178 is females [18]. Income and livelihood of peoples in Babich town is based on various activities. Daily labor and peaty trade had the largest source of income for the livelihood of the community. Government employment and agricultural activities had also significant contributions in the livelihood of the people. In the town, there are small-scale manufacturing’s which are privately owned and operated traditionally and labor insensitive [18].

4. Methodology

4.1 Data and data sources

This research used mixed approach, which is a mixture of both quantitative and qualitative methods. The research used both primary and secondary sources of data. Primary data were collected using questionnaire, structured and semi-structured interviews, focus group discussion (FGD), key informant interviews (KIIs), and observation, while secondary data were collected from both published and unpublished books, articles, journals, legal documents, government reports, and related studies.

The structured and semi-structured survey questionnaire was developed using two points (Yes or No). Two FGDs were done from two kebeles of the town (one from each kebele). Each FGDs was having six discussants who were residents in each kebele (such as elders, youth) government workers from municipality, environmental protection, and land administration). Moreover, KIIs were done from mayor of the town, each kebel administrator, and professional planners in the municipality.

4.2 Sampling technique and sample size

This research was done in Babich town, which was picked purposively i) due to prior knowledge by the researchers and ii) prevalence of less urban plan implementation in the town.

The study town and the sample kebeles were selected purposively based on i) the researchers’ prior knowledge and ii) prevalence of less urban plan implementation in the town. There are a total of 12,348 household heads in both urban kebeles of Babich town. Of these, 7162 (58%) were found in urban kebel 01 and 5186 (52%) in urban kebele 02 [18]. The total sample size from the selected urban kebeles can be determined using Yamane [20] formula, which is specified as follows:

$$\text{n}=\frac{\text{N}}{1+\text{N}{\left(\text{e}\right)}^2}$$E1

where n = designates the sample size the research used; N = designates total number of respondents; e = designates the maximum variability or margin of error 5%(0.05); 1 = designates the probability of the event occurring.

Hence, using the above formula, the total sample size computed was 387. In order to include representative samples from the two urban kebeles, proportional sampling technique using the following formula was used:

$$ni=\left[\frac{Ni}{\text{N}}\right]xn.$$E2

where ni is the sample size of each urban kebele; Ni is the number of each urban kebele household heads, N is the total number of household heads in the sample town, and n is the total sample size.

Therefore, 224 and 162 were sample from urban kebele 01and 02, respectively, in the study area. Sample respondent household heads were chosen using simple random sampling technique.

4.3 Data analysis

The study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis. Descriptive statistics (mean, percentage) was used to summarize data obtained through questionnaires, while thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data collected from FGDs and KIIs.

5. Results and discussion

5.1 Respondents’ profile

The socio-demographic condition of sample respondents is presented in Table 1. In terms of gender 52% are males, while 48% are females. The average age of sample respondents is 42 years, 85% are married, and the majority of them (40%) are traders.

Variables		Number
Gender	Male	202 (52.2%)
	Female	185 (47.8%)
Age	Average (yrs)	42
Marital status	Single	42 (10.9%)
	Married	328 (84.7%)
	Widowed	8 (2.1%)
	Divorced	9 (2.3%)
Education	Illiterate	13 (3.4%)
	Can read and write	147 (37.9%)
	Primary school	86 (22.2%)
	Secondary school	59 (15.2%)
	Diploma	46 (11.9%)
	Degree and above	36 (9.3%)
Occupation	Daily laborer	78 (20.2%)
	Farmer	62 (16%)
	Trader	154 (39.8%)
	Driver	13 (3.3%)
	Government employee	76 (19.6%)
	NGO	4 (1%)
	Total	387 (100%)

Table 1.

Socio-demographic characteristics of respondents (N = 387).

Source: Survey Data, 2021.

5.2 Challenges of urban plan implementation

According to Adams [21], a planning course of action is not always crowned with victory. There are often unexpected happenings, which cannot be solved sufficiently. Furthermore, other negative factors can lead to failures to implement the appropriate plan. Figure 2 indicates the challenges that influence urban plan implementation.

Figure 2.

Challenges of urban plan implementation, source: Survey data.

These challenges could be of various types but the most common and dominants in decreasing order are the absence of fixed demarcation (359, 93%), lack of enough municipal man power/capacity (259, 67%), lack of monitoring and evaluation (244, 63%), expansion of illegal settlement (222, 53%), lack of integration (vertical and horizontal) in implementing the envisaged plan with sector offices (190, 49%), lack of enough planning instruments (178, 46%), lack of taking corrective measures (170, 44%).

On the other hand, lack of budget, lack of guiding principles, standards, norms, and lack of easy plan for implementation are challenges that have relatively least influence on urban plan implementation as compared to those listed above. A study by Habtamu (2011) vividly stressed out on the negligence of plan implementation bodies and the role of invisible hand in influencing plan implementation process. In principle, any land uses should not be changed without the consent of the plan preparing body. Besides any land use change should be supervised and monitored by responsible office.

In addition to the above-listed challenges, the main challenges of urban plan implementation mostly happen in small towns like Babich as stated by FGD discussants and KII interviews include financial problems, lack of skilled man power, absence of trained and skillful representatives to become influential in plan implementation, lack of effective monitoring and evaluation, lack of equipment’s and violations of plan, problems of good governance, continuous practice of illegal land tenure, lack of community participation during basic plan preparation as well as basic plan implementation, and lack of transparency. The details of these main challenges are presented below.

1. Financial problems: Financial problem is one of the important hindrances of urban plan implementation. This is because of improper consideration to implementation issues during the budget allocation period and releasing allocated budget for implementing bodies on their request is raised as the problematic [22]. The budget allocated for the municipality of the Babich town is not sufficient. If there is no sufficient amount of budget, it is difficult to provide basic infrastructural services for the people. Therefore, problems such as waste disposals, canals, green areas, parks, and infrastructural services are not properly provided in the town.

2. Good governance problem: In the municipality, there is lack of good governance problem, which includes accountability, transparency, responsiveness, rule of low, efficiency and effectiveness, equity, and fairness [23]. The municipality should be highly committed, but in Babich town there is intervention of politicians and they are not devoted to implement the plan. So there is no smooth relation among politicians, professionals, and the community and this in turn leads to lagging the town development and hampering plan implementation in the town [24].

3. Lack effective monitoring and evaluation problem: The FGD and KII were widely discussed on monitoring and evaluation of the plan implementation in Babich town was very weak. The monitoring and evaluation system for the proper implementation of the urban plan in the town has been poor, false, and inconsistent and failed to provide corrective measures by the concerned bodies [25]. The failure of timely evaluation and monitoring has resulted in a loss of proper urban plan implementation at right time for right goal [26].

4. Illegal land tenure/transfer problem: It is the act of transferring land based up on the wish of land owner in informal method [27]. This implies transferring plots of land illegally without considering the legal procedure. This could be due to the absence of unity or coordination among different stakeholders. Farmers in the peri-urban area and urban dwellers practiced illegal land tenure through two important ways: i) change of farm land to residential land without appropriate planning and ii) illegal sell plots of land on cash based on the seasonal price. Therefore, illegal land transfer results in hampering of basic plan implementation and causes continuous conflict in the study area (Figure 2).

5. Plan violations problem: It shows the failure of all stakeholders to act according to the prepared base plan for town [25]. There is plan violation in different direction of the study area. The violations were made based on the desires of personalities or certain group choices. In this case, the land proposed for one purpose was changed to another without any legal background. The practical example for this problem in the town is Ehud-Gabia market was changed to bus station, residential place, and kindergarten (KG) school in the southern margin of the town. This indicates that there is land use change without legal background.

6. Absence of stakeholders’ involvement in plan preparation and implementation.

According to OUPI [17] plan preparation and implementation should be consultative and participatory where sector organization and institutions have been concerned and play a role. Sectoral, physical, and socioeconomic development program should be integrated at both planning and implementation stages. However, there is no adequate participation of stakeholders’ involvement in basic plan preparation and implementation in Babich town. In line with this, FGD discussants indicated that there is not stakeholder participation in any of the basic plan preparation activities of Babich town. This means the prepared basic plan of the Babich town has failed to include the needs and priorities of residents of the town. So according to this point of view it is possible to generalize that the challenges of plan implementation range from political to economical; from financial to institutional; and from physical to sociocultural factors.

Problems caused by absence of plan implementation in Babich town:

• Lagging the development of town: Urban planning is the method of shaping and guiding the physical growth of the town by creating the plan-based building for the beautifulness of the town (see Figure 3). Urban planning is also very important to use the urban scarce of land wisely without wasting and it plays a vital role to ensure the growth and development of urban centers to make towns competitive centers of integrated and sustainable development that are adequately responsive to the needs of their inhabitants [28].

• Social conflicts with in the town and with nearby kebeles: Urban expansion has both pros and cons on the surrounding communities. The pro is urban expansion provided infrastructures, such as pure water, electricity, road, shop, mill, accessible to the community, whereas the con is the issue of the amount of compensation paid to the community is not enough with the urban economy [29].

• Failure of different sectors to carry out their activities: There are different offices, for example, land management office, launched to perform different tasks assigned to it in Babich town. The role of the office is to manage the land in the town, but it does not provide proposed role effectively and efficiently. The land proposed for solid waste disposal site in the town plan is not implemented. This situation has impact on high way/asphalt/and disturbing the attractiveness of the town for dweller and polluting town (see Figure 4).

Figure 3.

Illegal settlements in the peri-urban area of Babich town. Source: Photo by authors.

Figure 4.

Land use map of Babich town, source: Babich town municipality.

Figure 5.

Current situation of the Babich town. Source: Photo by authors.

5.3 Importance of urban planning

The goal of urban planning and its effective implementation are to create urban areas, which is economically vibrant, environmentally sustainable, socially viable and livable, and spatially integrated and linked (Figure 5). On top of this, the current planning approach has its own core values and key development principles. The key development principles of structural plan are strategic, comprehensive and the needs for urban-rural harmony; dynamic, flexible, and sustainable; and participatory and equitable. This vividly shows that urban planning has been existed to serve human being long years [30] (Figure 6).

Figure 6.

Basic plan of Babich town, source: Babich town municipality.

Urban planning is believed to have been evolved and considered to be as old as the history of human civilization. However, the standard, development, and quality of planning show a discrepancy from time to time and from place to place. The relatively long tradition of planning practice in Eastern Africa indicates that there is an understanding of physical land use planning, which mainly comprised of master planning, planning, and building standard and regulation and a system of development control [8].The then pre-twentieth-century rise and fall of political capital period was taken as a historic landmark that shaped the current development of the urban system of Ethiopia in general and Addis Ababa in particular [31]. There is a continuous change in urban planning process such as developing a theoretical underpinning to the study of urban physical structure, changing in the involvement of professionals involved in urban planning, planning method, the way urban plan has respond to the rapid change.

6. Conclusion

Challenges of urban plan implementation in Babich town were started from the pre-plan establishment of the town. In order to do these activities, enough budget and communal participation about the advantage of plan for urban development and wisely use of plots of land is very important; however, in Babich town it is at low stage. The socioeconomic and administration factors are also another important barrier of plan implication in the study area. All the administrative bodies from region to the town municipality did not perform their responsibilities according to the mandate empowered on them. There is no proper monitoring and evaluation by regional UPI. Politicians’ intervention is serious challenge plan implementation in the study town.

The community participation in plan preparation and plan implementation process, in plan changing process and decision making about their town issue, is completely ignored. Illegal land tenure is also another big problem. The illegal land tenure is practiced in the town in the areas proposed for greenery and parking. Urban plan implementation problem may also happen due to the lack of detail plans. Preparation of detail plan is vital for every kind of plan implementation. Any work of plan implementation has to be supported with detail plans; otherwise, it will be problematic to implement it. Plan should be supported by essential effort to implement the proposed plan.

Acronyms

FGD

Focus Group Discussion

KII

Key Informant Interview

UPI

Urban Plan Institute

OUPI

Oromia Urban Plan Institute