As Kisumu prepares to host the Africities Summit next week, Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o wants a more forward-thinking and human-centred design of African cities.
He wants to see more trees and vegetation in urban areas, which provide shade, retain water and reduce carbon emissions.
“Africa should plan ahead because by 2050, more than 60 per cent of Africans will be living in urban areas,” he said.
Africities is a Pan African conference that promotes decentralisation and local governance to improve living standards in the African continent. It is convened by the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa.
The 9th edition of the Africities Summit is coming to Kenya, specifically Dala, Kisumu, from May 17-21.
Nyong’o spoke to Mercy Gakii on the expectations for Africa as the lakeside city plays host to thousands of delegates from across the continent.
The manner in which our urban areas have developed since Independence leaves a lot to be desired. The summit will envision how intermediary urban centres will look like in 2050. What should we do to make it a resilient urban space?
What does hosting the 9th Africities Summit mean for Kisumu City?
Hosting the 9th edition will enable us to have a discourse on how best political power and state responsibility can be handled lower down at local government for the local communities. Local governments differ from country to country in Africa.
We once had districts before the new constitution. There were initiatives such as Focus For Rural Development in Kenya, and those days, all the funding to counties was done from the national government.
Today, the administrative structures in county governments are established within the grassroots and, hence, operate from a different approach to governance and development.
In some parts of Africa, such as Uganda and Nigeria, there are traditional governments like the Kabaka kingdoms. We want to invite them to share their knowledge and to find out their roles and how they interact with the established systems of government. We expect those in traditional leadership to speak about their role in society, how they influence local leadership and why their leadership model should continue to strengthen cultural life.
The United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG-A) aims to establish an institution for longer-term discussions on how best political power and state responsibility can be handled at local governments more effectively for both the nation and the common communities.
When we attended the 8th edition of the summit in Marrakech, Morocco, in 2018, a question posed was that most of those living in urban areas will be living in cities by 2050. This process of urbanisation is unstoppable. Development in these areas must be properly planned to include important places, such as green spaces and walking areas, or we may find our local urban cities in a situation like Bombay found itself when the city wanted to build a subway.
The manner in which our urban areas have developed since Independence leaves a lot to be desired. The discussions at the summit will envision how intermediary urban centres will look like in 2050. What should we do to make it a resilient urban space?
What is the role of intermediary cities in terms of their contribution to urbanisation in Africa?
An intermediary city has between 300,000 and up to 2 million people. Our discussions at the summit will be about how we will make our cities resilient and sustainable. The year 2050 is not far from now, and by then, it is estimated that 60 per cent of populations in Africa will be living in urban areas.
We must avoid failure by planning ahead. To plan is to choose, as Mwalimu Julius Nyerere said. We must avoid the situation that we have seen in Nairobi City, where the Nairobi expressway to the airport has taken a lot in terms of expenses simply because of not planning early. There was a chance to build a subway in 1974 and it would have been very cheap.
In Kisumu, we have a geospatial plan, which tells us where to do what now, and what will be done by 2050, and that it should not be jeopardised by what we do today.
We have put our traders in a modern market so that they do not trade on the streets. We will give our traders security. We are formalising the future now.
Critical allocation of resources for sustainable growth will be very crucial to the growth of the urban centre. We have affordable housing that is taking shape here, where we are making use of the land in urban areas to house more people on a smaller space.
We are keen on spaces and green areas for the children, and amenities such that residents can access services within walking distance. We are looking at integrated neighbourhoods so that our children enjoy life holistically, such as having them walk to school.
The problem of waste management, including wastewater, has led to pollution even for the lake. What is your government doing to stem this problem?
Drainage and sewers are two critical matters in our county urban areas. At one point when it rained in this (Kisumu) City, all manner of rubbish flooded the streets due to poor drainage systems. We have corrected that so that the rainwater can be collected into a reservoir for onward use.
In the developed nations such as China, they have a circular sort of economy, where everything is recycled. The water from rain is collected into storage systems and then channelled for use, and even the wastewater, such as what we flush our toilets with, is recycled and reused.
In our plans, we are looking into how to move towards such a system as a circular economy, whereby an essential product such as rainwater is preserved by being diverted into reservoirs, and can be distributed for use in a way that it can be recycled. As we plan, we seek to bring such ideas, which are vibrant in developed nations, and see them work to our benefit.
What does the City of Kisumu expect to gain as the 9th Africities Summit hosts?
I wish people would ask this question: What do other people coming from the rest of the world look to gain from us?
When we were in Marrakech, we learnt so much about the hospitality industry. Morocco is world-famous for their tourism.
The Africities Summit is more like a devolution conference but on a continental scale. Think about it as having every county from Africa congregated in Kisumu. Counties have confirmed that they shall be taking exhibition stands, so we hope that they can exhibit and showcase their products and services. This is a chance for every guest and even hosts to learn from their peers.
We also look forward to vibrant discussions on critical issues such as climate change, resilient housing and energy-efficient solutions. I have visited Sweden and was impressed to find that every house is built as self-sufficient in terms of energy. Each house can generate so much solar energy that it can be sold to the national grid. We must learn from others how they are bringing down the cost of essential services.
What are your expectations when the 10,000 delegates land in Kisumu for the summit?
To host them, entertain them, show them our tourist points in the western region of Kenya, have useful discussions with them, and ensure that they spend and leave incomes for the people of Kisumu so that we benefit.