ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, February 29, 2016/APO (African Press Organization)/ —
The Department of Political Affairs of the African Union Commission through its African Union Specialized Technical Sub-Committee no.8 on Public Service, Local Government, Urban Development and Decentralization (AU-STC no.8) organized the Experts Group Meeting (EGM) of African Ministers on Housing and Urban Development of its Sub-Committee on Human Settlement and Urban Development from 23-24 February 2016 in Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria on the margins of the African Regional Meeting on HABITAT III from 24-26 February 2016.
The objective of the meeting was to review the Draft Common African Position (CAP) on HABITAT III scheduled for October 2016 in Quito, Ecuador in order to facilitate and fast track its adoption by the Ministers during their session on 24 and 25 February 2016.
In her remarks, H.E. Dr. Aisha L. Abdullahi, Commissioner for Political Affairs of the African Union Commission thanked the host country, the government of Nigeria for organizing this regional meeting and also showed appreciation to the UN-HABITAT and UNECA for the technical and financial support put in respectively in order to effectively organize this meeting. She emphasized on the importance of Agenda 2063 in this process specifically on its Pillar one (1) which speaks on the importance for sustainable growth, housing and urban development in all sectors on the continent. To her increasing rural-urban migration is caused due to the lack of adequate provision of facilities and services at the local level which must be addressed by the respective African Member States in their countries.
She then call on all Ministers and Heads of delegation present to continue supporting the African Urban Agenda by making sure that the Common African Position (CAP) on HABITAT III, adopted yesterday 24 February 2016, during the AU-STC 8 session is presented in Quito, Ecuador in October 2016 during the HABITAT III Conference as Africa’s united voice and representing Africa’s priorities for the next twenty (20) years. She also urged them to brief their respective Heads of State on this CAP HABITAT III as it will be presented during the Assembly session of the June/July 2016 Summit in Kigali, Rwanda.
The meeting was attended by the African Ministers on Housing and Urban Development and Heads of Delegation of the Subcommittee on Human Settlement and Urban Development among which are the Ministers of Chad, Senegal, Zambia, South Sudan, Cameroon, Kenya, South Africa, Lesotho, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Mauritius Island, Nigeria, etc.… Other participants at the meeting were the Department of Political Affairs/AUC (Secretariat of the AU-STC 8), UN-HABITAT, UNECA and experts from the African Union Member States in Urbanization and Housing issues.
In conclusion, the meeting approved the Common African Position (CAP) for HABITAT III in October 2016 in Quito, Ecuador and it was also agreed that this same document will be presented for adoption by the Heads of State during the June/July 2016 Summit in Kigali, Rwanda.
