City children unlikely to fit into rural areas: Kep

By GYNNIE KERO
The Office of Urbanisation foresees that children born to city or town parents are unlikely to fit back into rural communities.
Executive director Max Kep said children of mixed parentage would not know where they really belonged and second or third-generation children were unlikely to know any of the people or land that once belonged to their family.
“We (government) can never hope to resettle people back to the rural areas but we can encourage them to come closer for the purpose of better service delivery and access,” he said.
“It is no secret that populations in the isolated hamlets (rural communities) have been thinning out as children move out to seek opportunities in towns and cities.
“In terms of urbanisation in towns and cities, we have a lot of work to do.
“The challenges for planned urbanisation and upgrading of settlements are for these communities to enjoy city services just as the planned areas of the city.
“These informal settlements will remain a permanent feature of our urban landscape.
“If the idea of promoting a hierarchy of cities and towns is formalised, and promoted to become city hubs and where the country’s population is encouraged to concentrate, we may be able to deliver basic health and education services and maintain law and order for the majority of the people in a cost-effective manner.”