African Ministers of Works and Housing, at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, have agreed on a single position for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda (NUA).
Muazu Sambo, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Works and Housing, hosted the Africans’ Urban Agenda. The officials met ahead of the United Nations’ high-level meeting to assess progress toward implementing a framework for sustainable urbanization.
Speaking at the forum, Sambo explained that addressing the continent’s urbanization challenges would necessitate African solutions tailored towards its regional and socioeconomic characteristics.
He pledged that Nigeria’s role as the course’s champion will be maintained.
“Nigeria has been in the forefront in championing the African Urban Agenda, which focuses on mobilizing African Nations to unite in its quest for ‘home-made’ solutions to her urbanization challenges.
“The NUA presents a shared global vision for how to build, manage, and live in cities, through urbanisation that is well planned and well managed. It presents a unified position in the global dialogue in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda,’’ he said.
According to him, if African cities are to become more resilient and inclusive, increased investment in public transport, housing and other infrastructure will be needed.
He said the provision of infrastructure would serve the needs of urban dwellers, especially the low-income group which constitutes about 65 per cent.
On his part, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Transport Infrastructure Housing, Urban Development and Public Works, Mr. James Macharia, expressed concern about the slow pace of reporting on the NUA.
Macharia who was represented by the Permanent Representative of Kenya to UN Human Settlements Programmes (UN-HABITAT), Jean Kimani, said: “We have limited financial resources and statistical capacity within national statistical systems to support reporting and UN-Habitat has also been underfunded and understaffed, making us unable to coordinate implementation and reporting.’’
Other speakers at the forum harped on the submission of the Country’s Report that outlines their achievements, challenges and lessons learnt in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda across all sectors.
GUARDIAN
