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Africa Beyond 2005

Report

Day / Time Wednesday, June 21st / 13:30 - 15:30 


Event Description

During WUF II in Barcelona, Spain in 2004, UN-HABITAT and the Commission for Africa Secretariat organised a special networking event on the work of the Commission for Africa. The objectives of the event were two-fold: the Commission for Africa wanted to inform the participants about its remit to take a fresh look at Africa’s development needs, including those related to human settlements; and the Commission for Africa wanted to find out from the participants what they thought were the priorities on urbanisation in Africa. Based on that networking event and other civil society meetings across Africa, rapid urbanisation was tabled as a major development concern. The Commission for Africa Report, “Our Common Interest”, specifically states rapid urbanisation is the second biggest threat to Africa’s development after HIV/AIDS. This firmly placed urbanisation on the global agenda. At WUF III, UN-HABITAT and its partners have organized this networking event as a follow up to the Commission for Africa to discuss how the recommendations of the report and commitments made at the G8 summit in July 2005 will be followed through beyond 2005. Discussed will include the sources and mechanisms for financing sustainable human settlements. 


Session Language

English

French


Host Organization

Commission for Africa 


Host Organization Description

UN-HABITAT is the lead agency with the UN for human settlements issues. It is directly responsible for helping governments to implement the Habitat Agenda which was signed by 171 Governments at the Second UN Human Settlements Conference at Istanbul in 1996: Habitat II. The Commission for Africa was launched by the British Prime Minister Tony Blair in February 2004. The aim of the Commission was to take a fresh look at Africa’s past and present as well as the international community’s role in its development path. The work set out to be comprehensive and challenging, addressing difficult questions where necessary. The Commission was tasked with finalising its report by early 2005 and producing clear recommendations for the G8, EU, other wealthy countries and African countries. The Commission consisted of 17 Commissioners who all worked in an independent capacity. Most of the Commissioners were African and all were active and influential in their differing spheres of work and expertise, and included Anna Tibaijuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director UN-HABITAT. Commissioners were supported in their work by a Secretariat based in London. The Commission for Africa delivered its mandate by July 2005 and though the Secretariat was closed down, considerable progress is being made on the commitments. Commissioners continue to monitor and push the agenda of the Commission for Africa in their personal capacities.


Report

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Title of Event:

Name of Organisation:


Date and time of the session:

Africa Beyond 2005

UN-HABITAT, ActionAid International, LEAD International

Wednesday 21 June 2006 13:30-15:30


Key Highlights

  1. Estimated no of participants: 300+
  2. Stakeholder group representation at the event: Good turnout from government, private sector and civil society.
  3. What were the expected objectives:
  • To look at the progress that has been made on the Commission for Africa recommendations and the G8 Summit commitments with respect to urbanisation especially as urbanization is considered the second greatest challenge facing Africa after HIV/Aids.
  • To discuss a way forward to ensure that urbanisation receives the attention that it deserves from politicians, the private sector and civil society as the second biggest problem facing Africa after HIV/AIDS.
  1. What did the networking event achieve:

The panellists were selected for their expertise and diverse perspectives on the challenges of urbanisation in Africa. They brought to the table views from the United Nations, the Commission for Africa, Donor Governments, African Governments, the private sector and civil society.

  • Raised awareness about the challenges of urbanisation in Africa and highlighted what different stakeholders are doing to address these challenges.
  • Made a call to all stakeholders to increase their commitment to the urban agenda for Africa as recommended in the Commission for Africa report.

2. What were the core issues identified in your event as they relate to the theme and sub-themes of WUFIII?

  • The necessity of donor governments and financial institutions to fund sustainable cities for example the funding of the Slum Upgrading Facility from the International Finance Facility as set out in the Commission for Africa report.
  • The need for African governments to prioritise urbanisation challenges in Africa, particularly in order to develop sustainable cities.
  • The need for civil society participation in sustainable cities and at all levels of planning for urban development.
  • Importance of private sector involvement in finding sustainable solutions to urbanisation problems especially through innovative public/private/NGO partnerships.

3. What were the main points raised by panellists and participants in relation to these different issues? What new ideas have been generated as a result of the discussion?

  • African governments and civil society must be organised in order to tackle the challenges of urbanisation in Africa.
  • African governments need to propose better planning policies as unplanned settlements are usually a result of government mistakes.
  • It is imperative that the Commission for Africa recommendations to be taken forward especially by the donor community.
  • It is important that funding be provided for local leadership as civil society involvement can create the conditions for cross-sectoral policy dialogue to happen.

4. What process steps have been identified in your event that could help turn ideas into operational reality?

  • The work of the infrastructure consortium, which is inspired by the recommendations by the Commission for Africa, can ensure that the infrastructure of cities can deal with rapid migration into cities.
  • More sharing of information and ideas including institutional mechanisms for influencing G8 countries and donor involvement.

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