By Kefiloe Kajane
The Lesotho Town and Regional Planning Institute (LTRPI) says it has noted the challenges facing the land administration and management system in Lesotho, that render it effective and ineffective.
LTRPI indicated in a statement yesterday that there is a major land-use problem in Lesotho, and the spatial developments largely occur outside legal guidelines, that is, land and planning laws.
It added that the country is characterized by a highly visible manifestation of informal settlements where an overwhelming majority of people live in unplanned settlements.
“The planning system as well as the land administration and management practices are way off the mark, which is evidenced by the crippled, haphazard and chaotic nature of spatial development in the country.
“The problem stems from, amongst others, inability to put plans into effect, lack of development control and institutional imbalances and deficiencies, as well as ineffective institutional mechanism for linking planning and land-use controls with the operation pf the land market.
“Without urgent competent intervention, our beloved towns will become slums right in front of our eyes, with potential adverse effects of pollution and congestion, a loss of Lesotho as we know it,” the statement read.
This comes after the minister of local government and chieftaincy Rapapa Tsoinyane last month announced that people building on agricultural lands will face eviction.
