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UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
Biographies
. Photos
A,,
Photos
B.
Africans
Active at UN World Urban Forum in
Vancouver
The role of tourism as a
source of income for citizens
by
Jerry W. Bird, Editor
What a memorable week. After
30 years UN Habitat returns to
its launching pad - the seaport
city of Vancouver, British
Columbia Canada. The crowd is
estimated at 10,000 plus and it
certainly seems so, judging by
the heavy attendance at many
sessions. At the time of writing,
we have had the pleasure of
taking two groups of mayors
representing different African
countries on tours of Vancouver
and the University of British
Columbia. It's one way for us to
repay the wonderful hospitality
we have enjoyed in eleven years
with the Africa Travel
Association as its media voice in
North America and
Worldwide.
Get
a copy of this
outstanding
book
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The
twin goals of Habitat are
"Adequate shelter for all" and
"sustainable human settlements
development in an urbanizing
world. "The "Global Village" is
well represented, this week -
with Africa making a particularly
strong showing. As publishers of
Africa Travel Magazine and
related travel business media
features, we were extremely
pleased and honored to be able to
to network with so many of our
African colleagues. We will
introduce key African delegates
and speakers to you via radio
interviews and photos as this
important feature unfolds. Our
editors encountered another big
surprise on arrival at the Expo
Media Center, where many African
print and broadcast media were
present, giving us ample
opportunity to exchange views and
share ideas. Many delegates
requested complimentary copies of
Africa Travel magazine. These
issues from our archives cover a
wide range of African
destinations and
topics.
The
impact of Urban Development on
African Tourism goes without
saying - and this event, along
with Globe 2006 World's Largest
Enviro-Business Expo, also in
Vancouver, open up a broad avenue
for our editorial group. The week
started off with a keynote
address by Hon. Stephen Harper,
Prime Minister of Canada (left),
followed by Vancouver Mayor Sam
Sullivan, and BC Premier Gordon
Campbell.
Africans
have made a strong showing at
this world class event, as they
have at the 2006 World Cup in
Germany. On day four we attended
the Mayors Roundtable at Simon
Fraser University's downtown
campus, and later at the World
Mayors Reception we had a brief
dialogue with host Mayor Sam
Sullivan, who has a high profile
worldwide and will host the
Winter Olympics in 2010. We
finished off an outstanding day
at a special evening event hosted
by Kenya, networking with
dignitaries from cities and the
federal scene.
AFRICANS
ON VIDEO: Comments from the
African delegates are available
in Video Clips thanks to
Sustainability Corner, which
operated from a broadcast stage
at the entrance to the Expo. Not
only did our editor get an
opportunity to introduce Africa
Travel Magazine to the world, we
were provided with interviews
from a wide cross section of
Africans from Cabinet Ministers
to professionals of all stripes.
www.sustainabilitycorner.com
ACTION
ON SLUM IMPROVEMENT ent on
African Tourism goes without
saying - and this event, along
with Globe 2006 World's Largest
Enviro-Business Expo, also in
Vancouver, open up a broad avenue
for our editorial group. The week
started off with a keynote
address by Hon. Stephen Harper,
Prime Minister of Canada (left),
followed by Vancouver Mayor Sam
Sullivan, and BC Premier Gordon
Campbell.
Rose
Molokoane: South African Homeless
People's Federation anchored a
panel on this vital topic, which
attracted many members of the
world press, most especially
Africa Travel Magazine. A leading
world figure on Rose's panel was
Mr. Jockin Arputham is President
of the National Slum Dwellers
Federation (NSDF) of India. This
organization is one of the
largest urban poor organizations
and social movements in the
world. He is also President of
Slum/Shack Dwellers International
(SDI), an umbrella group formed
by urban poor and homeless
federations from many different
nations - as they support each
other and learn from each other.
Having worked for more than 40
years in slums and shanty towns,
building representative
organizations and demonstrating
what slum-dwellers' own
organizations are capable of, he
has shown what powerful partners
slum dwellers can be for
governments and international
agencies. Mr. Arputham set up
NSDF in India which developed to
become a mass movement with
hundreds of thousands of slum
dwellers as members. Mr.
Arpurtham is also an active
Member of the UN Advisory Group
on Forced Evictions. In 2000, he
received the Ramon Magsaysay
Award, Asia's version of the
Nobel Prize.
Mayors,
such as Patricia Applagyel of
Kumasi, Ghana';s second largest
city, are among our favorite
people, not just the friendly
Africans we met at the UN World
Urban Forum, but as publishers
we've had a dialogue with mayors
in our own province for decades
by covering the annual Union of
BC Municipalities Expo. Former
mayor Russ Helburg of Port Hardy
was of great help for years and
was featured in our first airport
magazine in the early 90s. Not
long ago I was keynote speaker at
a Trans Canada Highway
Association 59th Anniversary
Conference and mayors in my
audience came from half of
Canada, some 2,000 km from Lake
Manitoba to the :Pacific. They
were a very appreciative
audience. Small wonder we love
dealing with mayors. Patricia was
featured on a cover page of the
Vancouver Sun Newspaper following
the forum. We stayed in Kumasi
earlier this year during our tour
of Ghana and were greatly
impressed by its outstanding
potential for tourism
development. Rose, who is an avid
gardener and lover of beauty,
along with David, her colleague
from Tema, near Accra, joined
Muguette and I for a tour of the
University of British Columbia
campus, with stops at the
Memorial Gardens and the UBC
Museum of Anthropology.
 Anna
Kajumulo
Tibaijuka
Anna
Kajumulo
Tibaijuka
of Tanzania
(left),
Under-Secretary-General and
Executive Director, UN-HABITAT,
highest ranking African woman in
the United Nations, gave an
outline of the program';s
purpose. "As the international
community celebrates Vancouver +
30, it should also reflect on the
important lessons learned in
urban development and the need to
reduce inequalities within
cities. Cities present an
unparalleled opportunity for the
simultaneous attainment of most,
if not all, of the
internationally agreed
development goals. Interventions
in, for example, poor water and
sanitation, have immediate
positive knock-on effects in
terms of improved health,
nutrition, disease prevention and
the environment. However, unless
such concerted action is taken to
redress urban inequalities,
cities may well become the
predominant sites of deprivation,
social exclusion and instability
worldwide."
FACES
AND VOICES OF AFRICA AT THIS
EVENT
The conference speaker list
included many high profile
Africans. Here are just some of
the people who shared their
expertise and experience with
participants at WUF3:
SPEAKERS
FROM
AFRICA
Contact
numbers and some biographies
available.
Ali
Mohamed Shein: Vice
President, Government of
Tanzania
Harriette
Amissah ArthurL Director, KITE,
Ghana
Mary
Balikungeri: Rwanda Women's
Network, Rwanda
Tasneem
Essop: Minister of Environment,
Planning and Economic
Development, Government of the
Western Cape, South
Africa
Eric
Falt: Director of the
Division of Communications &
Public Information, United
Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), Kenya
Bhekokwakhe
Hamilton Cele: Transport Safety
and Community Liaison Officer,
KwaZulu Natal, South
Africa
Lamine
Mbassa: Director of Economic and
Financial Affairs,
Communauté Urbaine de
Douala (CUD), Cameroon
Jean-Pierre
Mbassi: Secretary General, United
Cities & Local Governments
Africa
Smangaliso
Mkhatshwa : Councillor of
Tshwane, South Africa
Abbès
Mohsen: Mayor of Tunis,
Tunisia; President of the
Féderation Nationale des
Villes Tunisiennes,
Tunisia
Rose
Molokoane: South African Homeless
People's Federation, South
Africa
Maria
Mutagamba: Minister of State for
Urban Employment & Poverty
Alleviation, Government of
Uganda, Uganda
John
Pombe Magufuli : Minister of
Housing, Lands and Human
Settlements, Government of
Tanzania, Co-Chair WUF
3
Lindiwe
Sisulu: Minister of Housing,
Government of South
Africa
Local
examples of sustainability
Examples of urban sustainability
were just outside the doors of
WUF3. Delegates saw how a waste
water treatment plant works or
cycle around the University of
British Columbia campus. Free
guided tours took them off the
tourist track to see why
Vancouver is one of the most
sustainable cities on the
planet.
RELATED
LINKS
WORLD
MAYOR AWARDS-
AFRICA;
Finalistgs 2006: Mayor of
Antananarivo, Madagascar;
Johannesburg, South Africa;
Maputo, Mozambique; Tunis,
Tunisia
AFRICA
MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT
PARTNERSHIP
Under the current local
government reforms in Africa,
Mayors and Councillors are key
actors in establishing strong and
sustainable local governments.
They have a dual role of
democratising local government
and fostering local development.
They represent the citizens and
are supposed to provide both
political and economic
leadership; have an appreciable
level of civic knowledge with the
ability to manage public affairs;
and create an environment for
maintenance of peace and security
in their jurisdiction. However,
until the late 1980s, it was
never conceived that
representation of ordinary people
requires a mayor or a councillor
to have extraordinary skills.
This was possibly due to the fact
that their engagement was on a
part time basis and for a fixed
term of one or two years. Many
elected officials come to local
authorities without prior
management skills or knowledge of
local government systems, or
knowledge of national priorities
and goals. MORE-
MAYOR'S
OUVERHAUL OF ADDIS
ABABA:
Executive Mayor Arkebe
Oqubay
AFRICA
CITY MAYORS SOCIETY- PROJECTIONS
TO 2030
US
AND AFRICAN MAYORS
MEET
UN
WUF3
Newsletter
Gondar,
Ethiopia: Africa's
Camelot
As
our minibus rolled
into Gondar, after a
short flight from
Lalibela, there was
ample evidence that
here was an area
destined for long
range development as
a destination resort.
Several new
industries attest to
this growing trend,
as did our
conversation with
entrepreneurs at the
airport and later at
the hotel. Our
modern, government
operated hotel, the
Goha was perched like
a sentinel on a
hilltop, with a
commanding view of
the city and
countryside.
Gondar
was Ethiopia's
capital and principal
city during the reign
of Emperor Fasilidas
in the 17th century.
Perhaps that's why I
expected to find it a
shrine to past
glories, instead of
an active, bustling
community, with
people filling the
streets, shops doing
a brisk business, and
scores of gaudily
painted horse and
buggy taxis (garis)
scooting every which
way, like bumper cars
at a
midway.
Several of our group
decided to try this
hair raising means of
transport, and it
became a highlight of
their day, trotting
through the narrow
alleys of this
centuries old
capital.
(continued)
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