They are the Zambian High Commissioner to Kenya, Lt. Gen. Solomon Levy Mumbi, and Mr. Luis Lorvão of Portugal, who is also his country’s Ambassador to Kenya. Mrs. Tibaijuka told Lt. Gen. Mumbi that Zambia is one of UN-HABITAT’s priority countries. She stated that UN-HABITAT has carried out a number of projects in the country including the fact that Zambia’s capital city, Lusaka, was among the first beneficiaries of the agency’s Water for African Cities' programme. Other projects carried out in the country include the Sustainable Lusaka Programme, the Sustainable Kitwe Programme, and the Regional Urban Sector Study of Lusaka and Kitwe. She said Zambia and UN-HABITAT were discussing the launch of the Urban Environmental Management Framework, and other cooperation proposals with the Cities Alliance. UN-HABITAT, which last year appointed a Habitat Programme Manager to liaise with the government, works with a number of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Zambia, including Habitat for Humanity Zambia, the Zambian Women and Shelter Action Group, Women and Law in Southern Africa, and the organization Human Settlements of Zambia. She urged Zambia to apply for membership of UN-HABITAT’s Governing Council. Welcoming Mr. Lorvão, the Executive Director recalled UN-HABITAT’s cooperation with the National Youth Council of Portugal; and Cooperation e Desenvolvimento, an international organization that focuses on human settlements problems in developing countries. Mrs. Tibaijuka asked him to help ensure that the European Union does not discriminate against UN-HABITAT in the disbursement of funds to UN agencies and for the adoption of the indicative scale. |
