ADDRESS BY HIS. EXCELLENCY THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF
KENYA HON DR KALONZO MUSYOKA ON THE OCCASION OF THE
INTERNATIONAL TRIPARTITE CONFERENCE ON URBANISATION CHALLENGES AND POVERTY REDUCTION IN ACP COUNTRIES HELD AT UNITED NATIONS, GIGIRI, NAIROBI, ON WEDNESDAY IV" JUNE 2009 Honourable Ministers;
Mrs Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director, UN-HABITAT;
Executive Director, UNEP;
EC Representative;
Secretary General of the ACP Group of states;
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to once again join the UN-HABITAT family and to address this high level meeting of the International Tripartite Conference on Urbanization Challenges and Poverty Reduction in the African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries. May I take this opportunity to welcome you all to this conference: and in a special way, extend a warm welcome to those amongst us who are visiting Kenya. I wish to thank Mrs Anna Tibaijuka, the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT for honouring me with the invitation to address this very important gathering of distinguished personalities from the ACP countries. Two months ago, I was privileged to address the 22nd Session of the Governing Council of UN-HABITAT at this same complex during which landmark resolutions were made on cities, climate change and affordable housing finance. I am therefore pleased to note the commitment and efforts of the UN-HABITAT in advancing the cause for better shelter for all humanity. Ladies and Gentlemen, It is estimated that more than 50% of the world's population live in urban areas. The number has risen from 1.5 billion in 1975 to 3.6 billion presently with projections pointing to a whooping 5 billion urban inhabitants by the year 2025. Insofar as cities in developing countries are concerned, it is projected that they will cumulatively absorb 95 per cent of urban growth in the next two decades. This trend clearly indicates that urbanization will continue unabated. Indeed, urbanization is a dynamic phenomenon and an integral part of the process of socio-economic transformation and development. Where it is not properly harnessed, it results in uncontrolled settlements, poverty and social exclusion, pollution and unsustainable consumption of resources such as land, water and energy, which in turn accelerate environmental degradation and climate change. Whereas urbanization may be seen as an indicator of economic growth, what is worrying is its apparent symbiotic correlation with the prevalence of informal settlements or slums, which further illustrates the widening social divide in poorer countries. Recent studies show that the rate of urban growth is near equal to the rate of slum formation in many developing countries. Slums are still a major phenomena in all urban centres among the ACP Countries. In Kenya, they accommodate 50-60% of the urban population in large towns and about 30% in smaller towns. Regrettably, slums represent the most visible manifestation of urban poverty, the failure of sectoral policies, and the inability of institutions and countries to provide for the basic needs of the populace. Today, one billion people in the world live in slums and deprived neighbourhoods.
There is therefore a compelling case for action on the vicious cycle of urban poverty. Consequently, ACP countries need to re-examine urbanization a fresh and devise proactive urban management strategies to utilize the opportunities and attendant challenges in a sustainable way. Ladies and Gentlemen, Kenya's experience with the down-side of urbanization is not any different from the situation obtaining in many ACP countries. The country's slums are growing at an alarming rate as more people move to the cities and towns in search of employment and other opportunities. This poses challenges of enormous proportion in a bid to provide adequate services for the growing urban population which currently accounts for 40% of the country's total population. To address this situation, the Government in collaboration with development partners and other key stakeholders launched the Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme (KENSUP) to coordinate the improvement of living conditions in informal settlements over the next 13 years at an estimated cost of 12.6 billion US Dollars. Within this collaboration, the Government executes and manages the programme wherein the Ministry of Housing and the relevant local authorities implement the component project. Others including UN-HABITAT, civil society partners, participating local communities, and the private sector complement this effort. The Government has also established the Kenya Slum Upgrading Low Cost and Infrastructure Fund to serve as a depository of all monies appropriated by Parliament or raised from development partners and other sources to enable the financing of this category of housing programme. More funds are to be generated from the beneficiary communities, which are now organizing themselves and forming cooperatives, as well as the private sector and other stakeholders. As I conclude, Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to reiterate that we are all stakeholders in urban development and shelter provision. We must therefore strongly advocate and lobby for policies that promote sustainable urbanization which, by definition, envisages all-inclusive and ecologically sound growth that is people-centered, socially harmonious, economically empowering, and environmentally friendly. I wish you fruitful deliberations and look forward to receiving a copy of your resolutions upon conclusion of this conference. Thank you and may God bless you all. |
