A joint team has been formed to prepare for the Africities summit to be held in Kisumu in 2021, according to the Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa. Kenya won the bid to host the ninth edition of the Africities summit in 2021, beating other African nations, and the summit will be held in the Lake City. “We are pleased Kisumu city will have the opportunity to host this conference…it will bring together over 6,000 to 10,000 delegates from Africa and beyond,” said CS Wamalwa. The summit is held once in every three years in one of the five regions in Africa and brings together communities, local authorities in Africa and financial institutions, civil society groups, and development partners from the continent and beyond.
Speaking at Capitol Hill in Nairobi after meeting AU High Representative for Infrastructure and Development Raila Odinga, Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong’o and other leaders, Devolution CS Wamalwa said the national government and the County governments will join hands to prepare for the summit. “We have formed a joint team, we are here to inform the right honourable Prime Minister on the plans that we have already started and the roadmap as to how this will be effected and we are happy with the support we’ve received so far,” he said.
The Devolution Cabinet Secretary said they are preparing for the nation’s future, where more than 60 percent of Kenyans will be living in the cities, “The three cities of Kenya-Mombasa, Nairobi and Kisumu-are the areas of focus as we move forward,” he noted. On his part, former Premier Raila Odinga said the government is working to improve lake transport, in collaboration with the government of Uganda, adding that the key Ministries involved are the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Petroleum, and Ministry of Tourism, “All these Ministries are working together to ensure the lake transport is revived and also the sea-front in Kisumu is improved for the attraction of tourism,” he said, “A lot of investment is going to be required in terms of finances to pull this through.”