The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A registered physical planner found guilty of practicing without a valid certificate risks committing professional misconduct which would lead to suspension, 2 years imprisonment or payment of a 2 million Shillings fine among other penalties.
This is one of the government proposals presented before parliament by Beti Kamya, the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development under the new Physical Planners Registration Bill, 2020.
Uganda currently has no legal framework regulating physical planners unlike other professionals such as lawyers, surveyors, engineers and doctors who have regulatory frameworks governing them.
“The absence of a legal framework has compounded the practice of preparation of arbitrary physical development plans, unethical planning practices and violation of minimum physical planning standards, rampant abuse and use of environmentally sensitive areas, degradation of the environment, encroachment on public areas such as open spaces and road reserves, depletion of natural resources and disorganized urban and rural development in the country, reads part of the Bill.
Government argues that the nonexistence of a legal framework raises a challenge of identifying qualified physical planners from ‘quack’ planners who are usually engaged in poor planning practices.
Uganda was declared a planning area in 2010 by the Physical Planning Act, 2010 and government cites a need to regulate physical planners.
Now, a copy of the Bill accessed by Uganda Radio Network- URN seeks to among others establish a Physical Planners Registration Board, provide for the powers and functions of the board, provide for the registration of physical planners, provide for disciplinary procedures for errant physical planners, a professional code of conduct and others.
According to the Bill, a registered physical planner is a person whose name is duly entered in the register and permitted to practice or any person who carried out work of a nature normally performed by a registered physical planner or pretends to be one.
The Bill provides for a registrar who shall issue a practicing certificate to every physical planner whose name appears on the register and who applies for a certificate and pays the prescribed fee. A practicing certificate shall be valid until the 31st day of December after its issue.
“A registered physical planner who is not in possession of a valid practicing certificate or whose practicing certificate has been suspended or cancelled and practices as a physical planner, commits professional misconduct,” further reads the Bill.
Clients have powers to make complaints of professional misconduct against a physical planner to the Disciplinary Committee provided under the Bill which committee shall within 14 days of receipt of a complaint fix a date for hearing the complaint.
After considering the evidence obtained, the Disciplinary Committee may order that the complaint be dismissed or caution the physical planner, suspend the physical planner from practice for a period not exceeding two years, strike off the name of the physical planner off the register or order payment of a fine by the physical planner not exceeding 100 currency points approximately 2 million Shillings.
“A person aggrieved by an order of the Disciplinary Committee may appeal to the High Court against the order of the committee. An appeal by an aggrieved person under this section shall be by notice of appeal to the High Court within 14 days from the date of the decision of the committee,” the Bill provides.
After hearing an appeal against the decision of the Disciplinary Committee, the High Court may refer the matter back to the Disciplinary Committee with directions, confirm or vary any order made by the Disciplinary Committee. The Bill says that every decision of the High Court shall be final and conclusive and shall not be subject to appeal to any other court.
The Bill also provides penalties for any person who fraudulently attempts to procure himself or herself to be registered falsely, pretends to be a physical planner and holds himself or herself out to be a professionally qualified physical planner.
Such a person according to the Bill commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding 48 currency points approximately 960,000 Shillings or imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or both.
Also a person who declines to respect summons without sufficient cause, refuses to produce any document in his or her possession or under his or her control, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding 24 currency points approximately 480,000 Shillings or imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or both.
Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga sent to Bill to the House physical Infrastructure Committee for consideration. The country has in the previous years experienced rampant collapse of buildings claiming lives. On several occasions, the collapsing buildings have been blamed on unqualified physical planners, fake engineers among others.
In May, Speaker Kadaga demanded for a report on the rampant collapse of buildings also noting that these should constitute an emergency situation that dictates express action from the engineers in charge of supervising of the buildings.
******
URN
