Representatives from national government, local authorities, civil society, research institutions and media recently gathered for the global launch of the ‘Mzuzu City Council Urban Profile’.
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Participants displaying the newly launched Mzuzu City Council Urban Profile© UN-HABITAT/John Chome |
The publication presents detailed findings on urban conditions and goes a step further to present solutions and best practices to address urban challenges.
During the launch, the City Development Strategy was also presented. It was recommended that some of the issues highlighted in the Mzuzu City Council Urban Profile be adopted. As a result, the profilewill help to inform the development of city-wide policies and programmes.
The Director of Planning and Estates Management Mr. Alex Chirambo, who was also the guest of honour, commended the active participation and responsiveness of residents, during citywide consultations. He further noted that such concerted efforts helped to inform conclusions arrived at in the urban profile. He also encouraged participants to redouble their efforts in mobilizing resources for the successful implementation of identified interventions.
In his address Mr. Richard Hara, the Chief Executive Officer of Mzuzu City Council acknowledged the extensive consultative process through which residents highlighted challenges and resolved to address dominant urban issues affecting governance, local economy, land, gender, environment, slums and shelter, urban safety, urban disaster risk reduction and heath sectors.
The German International Development Corporation (GIZ), financed the event as part of actions targeted at enabling Government of Malawi implement priority areas identified in the national Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP).The development of urban profiles is one of the main approaches used by cities participating in the Participatory Slum Upgrading Progamme (PSUP), to gain an in depth understanding of the challenges and resources available in the quest for cities without slums. PSUP is being implemented through funding from the European Commission (EC), and partnership with the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Secretariat (ACP), and UN - HABITAT. Funding earmarked for the year 2012 will assist participating countries to develop policies and implement tangible projects that will contribute towards the realization of the Millennium Development Goals. |
