Africities Summit takes off in western Kenya

Delegates from Africa have been arriving at the lakeside city of Kisumu in western Kenya, for the Africities Summit – a continental conference on urban areas.

The Summit, expected to be launched by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, is scheduled to run from May 17 to 21 under the theme: The contribution of Africa’s intermediary cities to the implementation of Vision 2030of the United Nations and Agenda 2063 of the African Union.

This is the first time that the Africities Summit is being held in an intermediary city.

Both the Vision 2030 and the Agenda 2063 seek to enhance the continent’s prosperity through better planning, provision of services and elimination of extreme poverty. And as the population in urban centres grows, officials have said the theme is suitable in establishing proper systems that will help larger cities remain well planned.