CASLE CONFERENCE IN UGANDA 16-17 NOVEMBER 2007
THEME: “HOUSING AND LIVELIHOODS”
The conference was opened by the Hon. Michael Werikhe,
State Minister for Housing and Urban Development
The major part of the speech is reproduced here
Ladies and gentlemen
Allow me to start by congratulating the leadership and members of the Commonwealth Association of Surveying and Land Economy for the role they have played in organizing this important Conference in Uganda.
On July 26th this year, we launched the campaign of Secure Tenure and Good Urban Governance on the theme “Towards livable urban areas”, in a colorful ceremony where H.E. the President was represented by Hon. Henry Muganwa Kajura, the second deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Service; the Secretary General of United Nations Human Settlements was represented at the launch. Also present were many other delegates from the East African Community and beyond. However what is more interesting to me is not just the mammoth audience, but rather the sisterhood of the themes namely
“Towards Livable Urban Areas” and today’s “Housing and Livelihoods”
As you are all aware, housing/shelter is a basic need of man. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Goal 7 targets 11 states to have achieved significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020. According to the MDG Uganda Progress report 2007, 50% of the urban population lives in informal settlements on land owned by other people and the government. Without security of tenure, they cannot access credit from the formal financial institutions, therefore lack the basic means of production.
To me as the Minister responsible for Housing, addressing the concerns of shelter for all and sustainable urban human settlements and livelihoods is supreme. Kindly permit me to pay special tribute to surveyors in Uganda and the Commonwealth, your respective Voluntary Associations as well as Technical Training Institutions and deliberate programmes which promote professional development and conduct. I say this in recognition of the fact that surveying is at the core of identifying land rights of the citizens.
The numerous concerns of Housing and livelihoods can be addressed in the context of Good governance. I shall categorize the norms of Good Urban Governance into seven namely;
Sustainability
Decentralization