Draw concrete actions to reap benefits of urbanization from the Kisumu Africities summit

Kisumu city (an intermediary city) will host this year’s 9^th Africities summit from 17^th to 21^st May 2022 under the theme “The role of intermediary cities of Africa in the implementation of agenda 2030 of the United Nations and 2063 of the African Union”. Intermediary cities are urban areas whose population ranges between 50,000 to 1 million people, Kisumu has 379,000 people, while the Kisumu region covering nearby counties, has a population of 10 million or 27 percent of the Kenyan population. Globally, intermediary cities are home to 20 percent or one third of all urban population worldwide. Intermediary urban areas have the potential to provide housing and other basic necessities cheaply and effectively because they have ample land, more than the metropolitan urban areas, and they are effective in linking urban and rural areas. Kisumu, which is strategically located on the shores of Lake Victoria, the 2^nd largest freshwater lake in the world, whose catchment area of Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda comprises a population of 35 million people, and a GDP of US$ 30 billion, can be exploited further through strategic investments, to generate more employment opportunities.

Intermediary urban areas in Kenya have to shoulder the burdens of their hinterlands, generate wealth, employment opportunities and provide goods and services under constrained budgets. Africities summit in Kisumu should harness our actions to reap the benefits of sustainable urbanization through three things: First, develop resilient and sustainable urbanization in Africa, suitable for human habitation, cognizant of the fact that by 2050 the bulk of African population will be living in urban areas, majorly in intermediary cities. This should be followed with deliberate efforts at improving socio-economic and political aspects to realize urbanization dividends. Realistic urbanization approaches backed by accurate data analysis and complemented by development of financing models like Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), energy efficient and low carbon production models should be encouraged. Secondly, there is need for detailed planning, management, and sustainable financing of urban areas to address the many challenges faced therein, including the youth bulge. Thirdly, Urbanization presents immense opportunities to accelerate progress towards our common development agenda 2030 & 2063 through promoting continental integration through trade, generating employment opportunities and mass transit connectivity options through infrastructure and smart management systems; and through urban zoning and specializations with private investments