Global meeting to discuss sustainable urbanisation

The Second International Tripartite Conference of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries scheduled to open today in Kigali is expected to discuss sustainable urban development. The conference will bring together 300 participants from 60 countries, a statement from the Ministry of Infrastructure says.“The conference seeks to present the Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme (PSUP) and other programmes and actions for sustainable urban development and slum upgrading,” the statement said.PSUP is being implemented in 34 ACP countries that include Rwanda, and urges each country to reduce by half the number of slum dwellers by the year 2020.The meeting will also present a platform to exchange ideas on sustainable urban development and to showcase achievements and progress made in urban housing, slum upgrading and prevention, organisers say.Officials in the Ministry of Infrastructure said the Rwanda Housing Authority is making an inventory of the slum situation in Rwanda.At least 70 per cent of urban residents in Rwanda are said to live in slums.The Ministry of Infrastructure says Kigali itself is an unplanned city with over one million residents.The city is expected to embark on proper urban planning by 2014 under the recently completede CoK master plan. The city Director in charge of urbanisation, Lillian Mupende said yesterday that there is an ongoing programme to tackle slums in Kigali.She said, “The city has started relocation, and we are either upgrading some of them, or relocating people in high risk zones.”Expected outcome of this conference include policies on improving the living conditions of slum dwellers and business opportunities for estate developers.

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Global meeting to discuss sustainable urbanisation