On the April 6 my mobile received no less than three SMS messages from the Urban Planning Authority (UPA). This is the authority in Libya responsible for all of Libya's urban planning.

They make all the by-laws and regulations about building specifications, health and safety issues regarding layout of buildings, the size, height and proportions of buildings. They also designate different areas in cities into commercial, residential or agricultural zones.

For example, they decide what proportion of a villa must be garden space, or how many floors can be built in a particular area, or whether a shop can be built in a particular part of town.

In theory, one is not allowed to build in Libya without obtaining prior planning permission from the UPA.

It is the UPA that issues planning permissions and makes Master Urban Plans, laying out specified residential or commercial areas, roads, car parks, parks etc.

One of the SMS messages I had received stated that all contracts for the supply of water, sewage, electricity, and telephones for buildings erected without planning permission should be cancelled.

What a solution! Can you imagine leaving people of all differing ages and health conditions without general utilities or electricity in summer?

Another SMS message warned that all illegally erected buildings would be removed at the owner's cost. So if it is not bad enough that the poor public are to lose their properties, some built by slowly saving dinar upon dinar over the years, they are now expected to pay for the demolition too.

The third message stated that buildings should only be built with planning permission as they are a waste of the nation's wealth.

Indeed it would be a waste of our nation's wealth if they are to be demolished. But, what would have happened to Libya's population growing at 2.2% or 110,000 to 132,000 annually if they only built with planning permission over the last 20 years or so? Many people would have been living on the streets.

Why is it that in the 2008 budget, public housing was allocated LYD9 billion with plans to build 530,000 housing units over five years?

It is because there is official recognition that there is an acute shortage of housing. During the sanction years, the state went into limbo and not enough housing or commercial space was built.

That is why many residential houses in Girgarish, Ben Ashour, Nofleen etc, are today used as offices by some of the biggest companies in the world.

It is very easy to always lay the blame on the poor citizens. But the blame lies squarely with the authorities and that includes the UPA.

Those at the UPA must recognise the state's role in the acute shortage of housing and commercial space. On the one hand the effect of the unjust UN sanctions meant that Libya had to limit its expansion and development plans and save money for immediate necessities since it was not known how long the sanctions were going to last.

Equally, during Libya's socialist years private enterprise was not encouraged and hence the private sector built very little new construction beyond personal use. Also, the law prohibiting rental at the time did not encourage construction of domestic or commercial property for rent.

I do not think the Libyan public likes wasting its time or money by building on non specified land or without planning permission. But, we have been waiting for the release of Tripoli's Master Urban Plan for years now.

We have been waiting for years to know where to buy and where to build. But the UPA will not set a deadline for its release. And the market and the development of Libya are frozen in limbo or are carried out without planning permission at risk of demolition.

There is talk of summer 2009 as a possible release date for the Master Urban Plan.

Hence the UPA will neither build nor let build. They will neither release the new Master Urban Plan for Tripoli, nor will they let people build and get on with their life.

It is all very well for the UPA to become very active and proactive and start demolishing people's illegally built properties down. But why not spend all the budget and energy on releasing Tripoli's Master Urban Plan first?

People must not be forced out of their illegally built homes or commercial properties until a replacement is ready on offer. For example, the already demolished areas of Falah and Airport Road have not been completed yet.

The proposed industrial zones of Wadi Al Raea' are nowhere near being ready either. Those are huge areas running in the hundreds of hectares and when completed would supply huge housing and commercial capacity for Tripoli.

That correct way of doing things is to build first, demolish second. I call on the GPC to announce a moratorium on all demolition work until the already demolished areas are rebuilt first.