The 9th edition of the Africities Summit commenced today in Kisumu City. The Africities is a Pan Africa conference that is convened by the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG-A) and brings together the leadership of cities and sub-national governments and their associations for the advancement of decentralization and local governance aimed at improving the living standards of the citizens. The summit is held after every three years since its establishment in 1998.
“In Africa, an unprecedented rate in urbanization has propelled intermediary cities to stand approximately at one thousand and eight six. These intermediary cities like Kisumu where we are today is home to approximately 174 million people representing about 36% of our continent’s total urban population and contributing to about 40% of our GDP.So as we convene to deliberate on how we can establish a shift towards a new urban paradigm. And unleash the potential of intermediary cities in fostering inclusive development and the realization of our SDGs and all other social-economic development initiatives. We must keep in mind that Africa is becoming increasingly urbanized,” part of President Uhuru’s speech during the opening ceremony.
The summit will be a week-long event ending on the 21st of May 2021.
