African ministers discuss eradicating slums
Posted 29th July 2008 at 12:08 PM by NewsTracker
By Bathandwa Mbola
Abuja - Delegates at a housing conference in the Nigerian capital of Abuja are deliberating on how best to eradicate the continent's growing slums.
Housing ministers from across the continent and representatives of international aid organisations have converged as part of the second African Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development.
Nigeria's Minister of State for Environment, Housing and Urban Development, Chief Chuka Odom, who addressed the opening ceremony, urged the ministers to try and provide a road map for a coordinated programme of action that would address the critical issues of "slum eradication and adequate shelter for all."
Setting the stage for the conference discussion, Mr Odom charged participants to give prominence to the issue of housing finance as a pivotal factor in the shelter delivery process.
"The greatest challenge to sustainable urban development between now and the 2015 target date for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will be to garner adequate and sustainable finances for housing provision and integrated urban development, without which Africa will be unable to deliver on the MDGs on slum and poverty reduction," he said.
The minister said the meeting should take a sincere and in-depth look at issues of rapid urbanisation currently consuming the continent, examine the growing unemployment and underemployment, decaying infrastructure, unmet housing needs and increasing poverty.
With more than 70 percent of the continent's urban residents staying in slum areas, delegates are faced with an enormous challenge.
The housing ministers have said the continued influx of people into Africa's cities and the pressing need to address the escalating housing needs of the poor has become more urgent.
The forum of housing ministers was formed in 2005 and South Africa has been chairing it ever since.
The summit is also looking at setting up a possible African Fund under the African Bank to eradicate slums on the continent.
The latest research indicates that more than 1.6 billion Africans will be living in slums by 2020.
South Africa is also participating in the summit against the backdrop of a set target to eradicate informal settlements by 2014. More than four million houses built in South Africa since 1994.
Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu is expected to share her ideas as well as learn from the successes of other African countries on how to achieve this. – BuaNews
Abuja - Delegates at a housing conference in the Nigerian capital of Abuja are deliberating on how best to eradicate the continent's growing slums.
Housing ministers from across the continent and representatives of international aid organisations have converged as part of the second African Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development.
Nigeria's Minister of State for Environment, Housing and Urban Development, Chief Chuka Odom, who addressed the opening ceremony, urged the ministers to try and provide a road map for a coordinated programme of action that would address the critical issues of "slum eradication and adequate shelter for all."
Setting the stage for the conference discussion, Mr Odom charged participants to give prominence to the issue of housing finance as a pivotal factor in the shelter delivery process.
"The greatest challenge to sustainable urban development between now and the 2015 target date for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will be to garner adequate and sustainable finances for housing provision and integrated urban development, without which Africa will be unable to deliver on the MDGs on slum and poverty reduction," he said.
The minister said the meeting should take a sincere and in-depth look at issues of rapid urbanisation currently consuming the continent, examine the growing unemployment and underemployment, decaying infrastructure, unmet housing needs and increasing poverty.
With more than 70 percent of the continent's urban residents staying in slum areas, delegates are faced with an enormous challenge.
The housing ministers have said the continued influx of people into Africa's cities and the pressing need to address the escalating housing needs of the poor has become more urgent.
The forum of housing ministers was formed in 2005 and South Africa has been chairing it ever since.
The summit is also looking at setting up a possible African Fund under the African Bank to eradicate slums on the continent.
The latest research indicates that more than 1.6 billion Africans will be living in slums by 2020.
South Africa is also participating in the summit against the backdrop of a set target to eradicate informal settlements by 2014. More than four million houses built in South Africa since 1994.
Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu is expected to share her ideas as well as learn from the successes of other African countries on how to achieve this. – BuaNews
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