At least 20 staff members of the Survey and Housing Department in Yei River County on Friday completed a three-day urban planning training aimed at strengthening land management, physical planning, and sustainable urban development to improve service delivery for displaced populations and host communities.
The training, which started on Wednesday, was organized and funded by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) through its Catalysing Durable Solutions for Displacement-Affected Populations and Host Communities through Urban Planning project.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Friday, Noel Taban Stephen, the Director for Public Order, emphasized the importance of the training in strengthening urban planning, promoting sustainable livelihoods, and improving coordinated development across the county.
“The workshop aims at raising awareness to foster stakeholders’ ownership of the program, which is to support durable solutions for the displaced persons and the host community through strengthening urban planning, improving service delivery, sustainable livelihoods, social cohesion, housing plan and property governance within Yei River County,” he said. “So, we have the Department of Survey and Housing and recruits. Our target also is to train new students so that we build this county.”
Meanwhile, Richard Luagala Godo, the Director of Housing, Survey, Land and Public Utilities in Yei, said the training had empowered his department after missing similar opportunities for years. He described knowledge as a powerful tool that will help transform the department and enhance urban planning and land management in the county.
“It is very important, especially to my department. It mostly talked about urban planning and land documentation. The three days that we had are very important for the workforce of my department because they have learned something that we had been longing for over these years,” he said. “Even though it is the start, we know that in the long run, they will be equipped with knowledge good enough. We have young ones, both males and females, who have participated in this three-day training.”
Jennifer Nyoka, speaking on behalf of the participants, appreciated IOM for organizing the training, saying it had sharpened their knowledge and equipped them with practical skills to improve urban planning, land administration, and survey services.
“This training has really helped us because seniors and the juniors have been combined. The reason why we have been brought here is to see and learn how things are done, and we have learnt a lot of things based on land and surveying,” she said. “The main purpose for us is to know our roles and what we are to do. We are now government employees, and this will help us develop our county.”
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