Kenya elected Vice-Chair of the UN-Habitat Executive Board – Kenyan Business Feed

Kenya was on Thursday elected one of the vice-chairs of the Executive Bureau of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).

At its first session held in Nairobi from March 29 to March 31, 2022, the Executive Board of UN-Habitat elected Brazil as the new chair of the Bureau, representing Latin American and Caribbean States.

Kenya, representing African states, Pakistan, representing Asia and Pacific states, and Poland, representing Eastern European states, were elected vice chairs. France, representing Western European and other states, was elected rapporteur.

The Executive Board of UN-Habitat exists to provide the oversight of the agency by Member States including the implementation of normative and operational activities, ensuring the accountability, transparency and effectiveness, and reviewing and approving the work programme and budget of the organisation.

The board convenes two to three times a year. The first Executive Board session was attended by 96 Member States, including 36 Executive Board members elected by the UN-Habitat Assembly.

At the same time, Housing and Urban Development Principal Secretary Charles Hinga has urged members of the diplomatic community based in Kenya to lend support and attend the 9th Africities Summit set to take place in Kisumu on 17th – 21st May 2022.

Africities is the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa’s flagship pan-African event that is held every three years in one of the five regions of Africa. It is supported by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).

Africties mobilises communities and local authorities in African countries, as well as financial institutions, civil society groups and development partners at continental and international level. This year’s theme is “The Role of Intermediary Cities in Achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union Agenda 2063.”

Hinga stated that the world was urbanizing rapidly with urban areas being home to over half of the world’s population. Projections showed that by 2030, the world would have 43 mega cities with over 10 million inhabitants. By 2050, two thirds of humanity will be living in urban areas.

“The role of UN-Habitat is, therefore, crucial in promoting sustainable cities and human settlements, and enabling Member States to effectively harness the transformative power of urbanization,” he said at the opening of the Executive Board.

“Since we last met in November 2021, in the space of four months, the world has changed dramatically. We are in the grip of political uncertainty worldwide. Let me reiterate the statement of the Secretary-General that it is never too late for peace,” said Executive Director of UN-Habitat Maimunah Mohd Sharif at the opening of the Executive Board.

Members of the Executive Board deliberated on financial, budgetary and administrative matters of UN-Habitat. They reviewed UN-Habitat’s draft annual work programme for 2023, as well as selected activities of the agency. The Executive Board also discussed preparations for the High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly to assess the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, to be held on 28 April 2022 in New York.

In her statement, Kenya’s Permanent Representative to UN-Habitat Ambassador Jean Kimani appreciated the presentation on the High-Level Meeting on the New Urban Agenda.

“We look forward to an action-oriented meeting which will revitalize the New Urban Agenda. Kenya is among the 28 countries that submitted the national report on voluntary local review on the progress of the implementation of the New Urban Agenda.  Following a meeting of all national stakeholders we have also submitted a revised version of the same,” she said.

The Permanent Representative said that as a demonstration of commitment to harnessing the urbanization process for effective development, Kenya was the first country to prepare a popular version of the New Urban Agenda contextualized to Kenya`s realities and priorities.

Kenyan Business Feed is the top Kenyan Business Blog. We share news from Kenya and across the region. To contact us with any alert, please email us to [email protected]

Comments