Senegal validates guides for local planning
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In Diamniadio, Senegal, the government officially approved three new methodological guides for land-use planning.
The Agence nationale de l’aménagement du territoire (Anat) developed these tools with support from the German Cooperation (Giz/Sen Suuf) to address inconsistencies in local planning. These guides will provide departments and municipalities with clear frameworks for development over a 25-year period and resolve disputes over territorial boundaries. The new guides cover departmental and municipal development plans, and also establish a method for defining municipal boundaries.
Minister of Urban Planning, Local Authorities, and Territorial Administration, Bala Moussa Fofana, explained that the country previously lacked a coherent approach to territorial planning, relying instead on individual efforts. He stated the guides will provide a unified planning method for Senegal’s 46 departments, clarify land use, and secure public investments. Fofana emphasized the importance of clearly defined municipal boundaries as a foundation for local sovereignty.
He believes successful national transformation requires empowering local territories, turning them into engines for wealth creation rather than simply service providers. Anat will now create a strategic roadmap to implement these tools across the country, with expectations that they will be integrated into project specifications and policy implementation.
