By Thabo Mokgola
KWAZULU-NATAL Premier Sbu Ndebele says there is a need for Nepad to recognise the results of urbanisation in order to effectively deal with this phenomenon on the continent. He was addressing delegates during an expert meeting ahead of the African Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development (AMCHUD).
Ndebele said if it was to make cities attractive for economic investment and inflow of capital for investment, Nepad had to be able to deal with urbanisation and its consequences first.
"To do this, Nepad must seek to articulate strategies and guidelines aimed at promoting sustainable development through regional integration," he asserted. He added that because of common issues experienced by most countries in Africa, it was imperative for the continent through AMCHUD, to develop a common position on human settlements and interventions for dealing with the manifestations of unsustainable urban growth and poverty.
"Arguably," he said, " the area where the conference will have the greatest impact concerns regional cooperation on housing, sustainable human settlements, including critical interventions for the upgrading of slum areas and urban development".
Premier Ndebele said the UN-HABITAT had developed a model targeting selected African cities, in line with Nepad's aim of sustained economic growth and good governance. As approved by the Nepad Secretariat, the programme has selected five cities from each sub-region of the continent, with Durban representing South Africa.
"A Nepad city should therefore spearhead economic growth with sound capital investment and opportunity for employment, reduce urban poverty, and ensure access to land, shelter, essential services and secure tenure," said Ndebele.
This morning, officials got off to serious business with various working groups thrashing out sticky issues in the areas of governance, land, finance, population and development, among others.
Source: BuaNews
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