With a total of 20 resolutions pledging renewed commitment to tackling key issues relating to growing role of cities on implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda and the African Union Agenda 2063, city managers and high level officials of government ended the 9th edition of the Africities summit in the city of Kisumu in Kenya.
Given the change in pattern of settlements in Africa from being a continent mainly rural 30 years ago and one which will become mainly urban in the upcoming 10 years; they plan to make intermediary cities the structuring clusters of sustainable development in Africa by granting them a prominent place in spatial planning and creating new territorial dynamics that promote exchanges and linkages between the rural and urban environments.
By 2050, 50 per cent of all Africans will live in urban areas. Today, more than 64 per cent of the urban population lives in informal settlements. There is a deficit of housing and finance with only 15 per cent of urban dwellers in Africa able to purchase their own homes.
The summit in its Kisumu declaration, acknowledged that small and intermediary cities currently host 60 per cent of urban dwellers and account for nearly 50 per cent of the African Gross Domestic Product (GDP); the delegates pledged to give priority to urban planning as an instrument for controlling the growth of urban and peri-urban areas by putting in place the institutional, legal, regulatory, and operational instruments, as well as the conditions for a participatory dialogue with the people.
They endorsed the goals of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda, those of the New Urban Agenda, those of the Right to the City, and those of the African Union’s 2063 Agenda, and their translation into local development plans, and called on African countries to develop concerted urban development strategies with adequate technical and financial resources in accordance with the New Urban Agenda of UN-Habitat.
While affirming their willingness to establish a constructive political dialogue between the different spheres of government to abide by the principle of subsidiarity, an essential factor in the effectiveness of public policies, they are convinced of the place of youth in the construction of the new Africa. They urged mayors to create local youth empowerment councils aimed at the full development of youth, their integration and their socialisation within cities.
The delegates also adopted culture as the fourth pillar of sustainable development by strengthening the cultural identity of territories to make it a potential vector of economic development.
“We affirm that climate change is a key issue for our territories and recommend to local governments to adopt the necessary measures to prepare their territories for the consequences of climate change and invite them to adhere to the Convention of African Mayors on Climate.
“We call on all States to sign and ratify the African Charter on the values and principles of decentralisation, local governance, and local development and to ensure the proper implementation of the principles it contains.”
The delegates further called for a better distribution of public resources in favour of the development of intermediate urban centres and a greater attention to the public policies meant for them.
They also made case for better use of local taxation and an effective collection of local government taxes, notably the property tax.
“We call on central governments to develop programmes aimed at strengthening connections between intermediary cities and their hinterlands to enhance exchanges around economic basins by eliminating transaction costs.
“ We propose to strengthen the links between intermediary cities and the capital cities of States by building secured road networks, railway infrastructures and air links based on local realities and to strengthen digital connectivity.
The delegates urged African Union and the African States to recognise the importance of decentralised cooperation and exchanges between local and regional governments so as to strengthen the knowledge and powers of institutions.
Similarly, they called on the entire African community to commit itself to the empowerment of women and youth by promoting economic support programs dedicated to women and youth, but also by facilitating access to decent and affordable housing, guaranteeing security, by preventing crime through campaigns to combat violence against women, and by offering young people integration and socialization programs through sports and culture.
