2nd Africa Urban Infrastructure Investment Forum- Luanda, Angola

2nd Africa Urban Infrastructure Investment Forum- Luanda, Angola

African Media Agency (Dubai)
1 MAY 2015

2nd Africa Urban Infrastructure Investment Forum

The 2nd Urban Infrastructure Investment Forum (AUIFF) in Luanda saw a number of African ministers and leaders of cities gather to discuss a range of issues relating to the development of African cities and how to deal with rising urbanization on the continent.

Africa has 52 cities with over 1 million people, which is similar to Europe. However Africa, where 40% of the population live in urban areas is not as urbanized as Asia, with 50% of urban dwellers or Latin America, with 60%.

In many of the presentations and panel discussions at the Forum, there was much talk of public private partnerships. This is because the public sector, that is government and local municipalities, simply don’t have the funds to build all the necessary houses and provide all the services to this growing population. Some 4 million housing units are needed in Africa every year for example. However, the private sector present at the Luanda meeting highlighted the need for transparency, consistency and the right frameworks – if investment into infrastructure is going to take place. There is interest in investment in the power sector, for example, but as infrastructure investment is recouped over a 25-year or an even longer time frame, certainty over the rules and regulations, as well as competition rules need to be established and clear.

The opening ceremony was hosted by HE Manuel Domingos Vicente, Vice – President of Republic of Angola, with participation from local and international representatives from various sectors in over 20 countries. He said that over a decade ago, Angola’s urban population consisted less than 50% of the total population. However, as a result of the Government’s urbanization initiative, numbers have increased exponentially, with 75% of the population now inhabiting the urban areas.

Angola’s Minister for Urbanizm and Habitat, Hon Jose Antonio da Concei????o e Silva, said that at the current rate of urban expansion “Africa will need to build 4 million new houses every year, in order to meet its demands”.

Delivering his keynote address, HE Pedro Pires, Former President of Cape Verde, winner of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation African Leadership Prize and Honorary Member of the UCLG-A reiterated the need to address the causes for rural/urban migration in addition to creating cities that are dynamic, wealthy, safe and beautiful, and have the potential to generate employment.

Africa is the fastest urbanizing continent in the world, but this migration needs to be controlled or else we will create some urban sprawls and slums, he concluded.

Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, UCLG-A Secretary General stressed the urgent need to develop and implement urban infrastructure investment plans, with an emphasis on financing “in order to curb the current infrastructure backlogs and enhance the attractiveness and competitiveness of African cities”. Meanwhile, Aisa Kacyira, UN Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director for UN-Habitat, highlighted the importance and strategic nature of AUIFF, saying that the Forum was essential in moving Africa towards to the development and empowerment of local economies.

Empowering cities also mean taking into consideration the needs of the people and the African culture and way of life, especially in terms of urban developments. The realities of our life, our living conditions are often not taken into consideration. For example, affordable housing units are often ‘imported’ with only 30% of the material used for these being local. Designers and planners therefore need to ensure that in the future, Africa makes use of its own resources and its own cultural way of life when designing and planning new developments and transformational plans.

The new “Kilamba” centrality in Luanda was showcased as one of Angola’s most successful urban projects. Supported by the Angolan Government, which provided 100 thousands hectares for the development of 18 provinces, Kilamba now has 400 thousand affordable houses. Previously seen as a “white elephant”, this centrality has now become a success story and a blueprint for others to replicate.

Property rights also remain among the most important issues affecting Africa’s urbanization. Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania, was presented as a successful case, where a high level of property registrations has helped to build social cohesion. However, regulating property ownership means effective communication and collaboration between property owners and local governments. AUIFF participants concluded that elsewhere in the world, property rights have resulted in wealth creation and have proven to be catalysts for transformation.

The Forum was organised by IC Events, the events division of IC Publications, publishers of African Business magazine. The next edition of the Forum will take place in Johannesburg in December.
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ABOUT THE EVENT
To meet Africa’s infrastructure gap, $93 billion of annual investment is needed, while governments currently spend only $45 billion. Investments driven by urbanisation will grow much faster across the continent, thus creating scope for exceptional growth in infrastructure projects and other subsectors. This potential is still largely unknown to international investors and its profitable opportunities are yet to be tapped into.

The inaugural Africa Urban Infrastructure Forum held in Cape Town in 2013 was a first, successful attempt to bring together the public and private sectors to seriously discuss urban development in Africa. The second edition will be held on 29-30 April in Luanda, Angola 2015, and will offer the opportunity to learn from the country’s experience in tackling the challenge of rapid urbanisation.

Jean-Pierre Elong Mbassi, Secretary General of the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA): “The competitiveness of national economies is more and more dependent on the competitiveness and efficacy of the local and regional economies that are driven by cities of different natures and size. A new paradigm of development gives a particular role to cities and local authorities as the transformation locus and agent of African societies. From now on, cities of Africa should take the lead in shaping the future of the continent.”
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Cities of Accra, Kinondoni Praia win José Eduardo dos Santos African Mayor Awards

The winners of the inaugural 2015 “José Eduardo dos Santos African Mayor Awards” were announced last week during a gala dinner in Luanda, Angola.

These awards acknowledge the leadership and contribution made by Mayors of large, medium and small cities and celebrate achievements and excellence in urban development in Africa.

The winning cities received prize money totalling $350,000 will be disbursed for specific initiatives. US$50,000 went to the city of Praia in Cape Verde (winner in the small city category), $100,000 went to Kinondoni in Tanzania (winner in the medium city category) and Accra in Ghana (winner in the large city category) received $200,000.

The formal presentation ceremony and a Gala dinner was hosted by Angola’s Minister of State and Chief of Civil House in the office of the President, Hon Edeltrudes Maurício Fernandes Gaspar da Costa and attended by over 350 guests comprising government officials, city leaders, African mayors, investors and business leaders.

The Awards took place in conjunction with the 2nd Africa Urban Infrastructure Investment Forum held from 29-30 March 2015 in Luanda, Angola.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Awards organiser and Publisher of African Business magazine, Omar Ben Yedder, said that the African Mayor Awards recognise, celebrate and reward City leaders or Governors who are helping transform Africa’s growing metropolises.

“The winning cities tonight are being led by individuals who are showing essential leadership qualities as they help build cities that work. And we will need more exemplary leadership, good governance and innovative thinking, whilst paying close attention to our culture and way of living when dreaming of the cities of tomorrow. Our leaders need to be close to the people, and our winners tonight are demonstrating these qualities.”

The winners were selected by a judging panel comprising of Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, General-Secretary of United Cities and Local Governments-Africa (UCLG-A),Tokunbo Omisore, Chairman of the African Union of Architects, Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director for UN-Habitat, Vitor Leonel Miguel, Chairman of the Angolan Architects Union and Gaetan Siew, Chair, Construction Industry Sector of Mauritius.

Also speaking at the awards UCLG-A Secretary General, Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi Mbassi said: “The José Eduardo dos Santos African Mayor Awards aim to raise the profile of Africa’s Mayors by honouring those who have made an outstanding contribution to their communities and developed a vision for urban living, working and travelling across Africa. Each year, outstanding African Mayors and municipal professionals from a large metropolis (1,000,000 residents or more), intermediate city (less than a 1,000,000 and more than 200,000 residents) and small cities (up to 200,000 residents) have the opportunity to win the prestigious Awards, which, this year are being supported by the Government of Angola, the UN-Habitat, the IC Publications Group and my own organisation, the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG-A).

Mr Elong Mbassi added: “We hope that these awards will encourage other Mayors to think long and hard about what sort of cities they want, to engage with their communities and to contribute to developing sustainable urban cities in Africa”.

In this inaugural year, the organisers commission a renowned Angolan artist to design a unique and inspirational trophy to capture the past, present and future of African cities. The piece represents courage and conviction as well as the urban challenges that African Mayors face in the future.

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of IC Publications.
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Dar es Salaam, Tanzania