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Statement of Dr Lindiwe Sisulu,
Chairperson of the African
Ministerial Conference on Housing
and Urban Development (AMCHUD) and
Minister of Housing of South Africa
delivered by Ambassador D S Khumalo,
South Africa’s Ambassador to the
United Nations at the 13 th Session
of the United Nations Commission on
Sustainable Development in New York
on April 12, 2005
Chairperson,
I have the honour to present this
report on behalf of Dr Lindiwe
Sisulu, Chairperson of the African
Ministerial Conference on Housing
and Urban Development (AMCHUD) and
Minister of Housing of South Africa.
The inaugural meeting of the AMCHUD,
hosted by the South African
Government, the African Union and
UN-HABITAT was held in Durban, South
Africa from 3 to 4 February 2005.
The AMCHUD adopted the Durban
Declaration and the Enhanced
Framework of Implementation as the
guiding programme for the
development of human settlements in
Africa. It is the hope of African
Ministers that the positions
reflected in the Enhanced Framework
will be taken into account in the
discussions and the outcomes of this
session of the CSD.
We are pleased that this session of
the CSD takes place a few days after
the 20th session of the Governing
Council of UN-HABITAT. We also meet
in advance of the review of the
implementation of the Millennium
Declaration and the Millennium
Development Goals in September 2005.
At its inaugural meeting in Durban
the AMCHUD noted the predominant
challenge of poverty facing the
African continent. If further noted,
within that context, the critical
challenge and the need to addressing
the growth of slums in Africa. It is
projected that in the next 30 years
Africa's population will have
doubled from 888 million in 2005 to
1,77 billion. In the same period its
urban population will increase from
353 million to 748 million at the
rate of 4 to 5 percent of which
71.9% currently lives in slums.
Chairperson,
Over the years, our collective
efforts have ensured that the plight
of the poor, the plight of those
living in slums found its rightful
place in the global agenda. It is
our hope that the establishment of
the AMCHUD and the adoption of the
African common position, the
Enhanced Framework of
Implementation, will ensure that in
the 21st century Africa will no
longer continue to progress at the
margins of the rest of the world. We
fervently believe that should
fundamental progress be achieved
collectively all of us, developing
and developed countries will
benefit.
Through the Enhanced Framework of
Implementation our Ministers have
articulated a programme to promote
consistent and collective approaches
to urban development in Africa. The
framework highlights issues such as
access to land, the mobilization of
domestic resources to fund the
development of human settlements,
and the importance of external
assistance including the need for
the elimination of the debt burden
in order to enable African countries
to meet Millennium Development
Goals. The framework also calls for
the creation of specific capacity
building measures and a fund
dedicated to facilitating the
establishment of human settlements
in Africa, including the
establishment of a financial sector
that supports the development of
human settlements in each country
and that is responsive to national
needs and priorities.
AMCHUD is committed to ensuring that
in developing the urban environment
in Africa markets also contribute to
urban development. The Ministers
committed themselves to ensuring
that sustainable development takes
place and that Africa in the
long-term achieves self-sufficiency.
These are the goals to which Africa
has committed its political will.
Lastly, it was also agreed that the
African Ministerial Conference on
Housing and Development would serve
as the focal point in Africa for all
issues concerning urban development
and human settlements. Therefore, we
urge the international community to
support the implementation of the
programmes identified by the African
Ministerial Conference on Housing
and Urban Development.
On behalf of Minister Sisulu, I
thank you, Chairperson |