02 Dec 2020

Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Development and UN-Habitat have signed a cooperation agreement on housing and urban development.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Gaborone on December 1, Minister Mmusi Kgafela said the memorandum of understanding  (MoU) would provide a framework for the promotion of housing development in Botswana.

It would facilitate provision of specialised technical support on key interventions advancing the New Urban Agenda (NUA) and by extension housing in Botswana, he said. 

Mr Kgafela said it entailed building capacity to develop and implement policies, strategies, plans and programmes driving housing development and social wellbeing of Batswana. 

“It has been quite a long journey to reach this milestone with discussions having started in 2016. This signing comes four years after the adoption of the New Urban Agenda, and would firm up technical support and skills transfer on interventions that drive the agenda,” he said.

The agreement covers seven priorities of land management, urban planning, formulation of the Housing Act, implementation of Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme, establishment of the national urban observatory and housing portal, monitoring and evaluation of planning and housing interventions and Public Private Partnerships in land servicing and housing delivery.

The priorities were a response to the NUA’s call to take action that guided sustainable and transformative housing and urban development in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 of ‘making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable by 2030’, he explained.

Mr Kgafela said the agreement formalised cooperation between Botswana and UN-Habitat  pointing out that the organisation had provided technical and financial support in the development of the NUA implementation framework, which had been domesticated and adapted in line with the country’s priorities. 

He said technical support had also been provided in the implementation of the Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme currently being implemented in Gaborone, Francistown and Lobatse. 

He said the areas covered in the MoU cut across ministries and sectors and provided a framework for different areas to develop agreements to further advance their programmes.

 Minister Kgafela expressed gratitude for the  invaluable support of the UN system, particularly the resident coordinator’s office.

The engagement between government and UN-Habitat would strengthen their collective efforts and ultimately improve the lives of Batswana, he said.

Botswana high commissioner to Kenya, Mr Duke Lefhoko said the agreement was indicative of Botswana’s readiness to intensify efforts aimed at enhancing fruitful cooperation in advancing the housing agenda, SDGs and acceleration of the NUA implementation.

He said there was no doubt that the collaboration would open doors for Botswana’s aspirations in the housing sector.

Mr Lefhoko also noted collaborative efforts in a number of key sectors in housing development, including technical assistance and capacity building, slum upgrading programme as well as development of data and information for monitoring and reporting on Agenda 2030 and SDGs. 

For her part, UN-Habitat executive director, Ms Maimunah Mohd Sharif said the agreement offered an opportunity to develop and implement integrated programmatic collaboration.

It would benefit from the UN system’s wide support within the framework of the organisation’s new cooperation framework under development, she said. 

She said UN-Habitat would undertake to share globally the good lessons that would be generated in Botswana. 

The signing ceremony was combined with the launching of Gaborone and Francistown prosperity index reports prepared as part of SDG 11 reports.ends