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Raila Odinga, Prime Minister Kenya, give his remarks during the 46th ISOCARP congress that took place in Gigiri Nairobi, Kenya. |
Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga officially opened the 46th International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) Congress which kicked off in Nairobi on Monday. Leading a high powered delegation which included four cabinet ministers, permanent secretaries and other top officials, Mr. Odinga paid tribute to the role of planners saying that his government held the professionals in the highest of esteem.
A recent population census conducted by the Kenya government had shown that 32 percent of the total population lived in urban areas and the government was giving planning top priority, the Prime Minister said.
"That our country has witnessed unregulated urban growth is evidenced by rpid emergence of slums, shortage of decent housing, and low provision of infrastructure, poor urban transport, traffic jams, rising crime and vulnerability to disasters such as fires and collapsing buildings. The theme of the Congress "Sustainable City; Developing World is very relevant to the global community and indeed to our own local situation in Africa," he said.
In his speech the ISOCARP President Ismael Fernandez Mejia recalled the long journey the organisation had embarked starting many years ago.
On her part, the Officer in Charge of UN-HABITAT Axumite Gebre-Egzhiaber said her organization was very interested in the substantive discussions that were going to arise from the congress.
"UN-HABITAT is very interested in the substantive discussions that you will have here. From your diverse national backgrounds, and through the lenses of your urban planning experiences, we believe that the dialogue in the next few days can further shed light on how to advance a new approach to planning, governance and management that is strongly embedded within the principles of sustainability," she said. |
