The Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), on Monday signed into law a bill amending the state’s Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law, lifting the restriction on employment of General Manager of the Lagos State Urban Renewal Authority to include other relevant professionals in urban renewal and development.
The Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law of 2010, which created agencies, including LASURA, said the General Manager of the Authority had to be a Town Planner.
But the new law, which emanated from an Executive Bill, expands eligibility for the post of General Manager to a mix of professionals relevant to that aspect of governance.
The law, as amended and passed by the House of Assembly, now reads that the General Manager must be a person of proven ability and integrity with relevant qualifications and at least 15 years post-qualification cognate experience in urban renewal.
In his remarks before appending his signature to the bill at the Lagos House, Ikeja, Governor Fashola said the amendment had become necessary because of the requirement for more multi-dimensional professional capacity within LASURA so that the Authority would be able to undertake and complete part of the uncompleted World Bank projects, which lifespan expired late last year.
The governor explained that the State Government took a collaborative project with the World Bank and recently the Lagos Metropolitan and Urban Development and Governance Project, adding that like all World Bank projects with limited life spans, the project wound up late last year.
“So part of its uncompleted work is what LASURA will be undertaking and that is the justification for the requirement for more multi-dimensional, professional capacity within the agency so that it would have the full complement,” Fashola said, adding that there was the need for the government to retain the flexibility to look for a related professional, especially when the skills lie outside the purview of a Town Planner.
He explained further: “Sometimes, if you are lucky, you can have a town planner who has all these experiences and skills. Sometimes those skills lie outside the purview of the town planner when you need it and government must retain that flexibility which the law limits.”
Noting that urban renewal is a component of urban development and town planning, Fashola declared: “When you can’t find a town planner with those skills at the time you need it, you must be able to look for a related professional who can carry on from there. So it is a cross mix of disciplines.”
According to the governor, people with construction economics knowledge will also be required because “these are critical people with project planning and project management experience who are going to be required”.
He added that apart from the urban renewal and regeneration essence, the Authority is also dependent on proper economics, costing, project planning, project design and project monitoring.
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