Asenso-Boakye Endorses United Nations’ “New Urban Agenda”

The Minister of Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, has pledged Ghana’s support for the United Nations’ “New Urban Agenda.”

On Thursday, April 28, 2022, in New York, the minister addressed a high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, organized by the president of the 76th session of the General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, to assess progress on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda.

Asenso-Boakye explained that the Government of Ghana is prioritising the provision of affordable housing to address challenges confronting its citizens in home ownership.

“Ghana is committed to making a conscious effort towards the implementation of the New Urban Agenda to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”, he affirmed. He added, that, “the choices we all make today could result in a breakthrough to a greener, better and safer future.”

“Recent statistics from the 2021 Population and Housing Census Report on Housing Characteristics revealed that approximately 12.7% of the total structures counted were vacant housing units, giving a clear indication that our housing supply has outpriced the average person in Ghana”, he said.

The New Urban Agenda, which was adopted on October 20, 2016, at Habitat III in Quito, Ecuador, is a paradigm shift based on city science that lays forth criteria and principles for urban design, building, development, management, and improvement.

It is meant to be a resource for many actors at all levels of government, as well as civil society organizations, the commercial sector, and everyone who lives in metropolitan areas around the world.

This agenda emphasizes the links between sustainable urbanization and job creation, livelihood opportunities, and enhanced quality of life, and it calls for all of these areas to be included in every policy and strategy for urban development and regeneration.

As the government prepares to embark on a new National Affordable Housing initiative, the minister’s attendance at this year’s UN General Assembly Meeting will be a game-changer.

Prior to this conference, Asenso-Boakye, the Works and Housing Minister, attended a Special African Ministerial Session on Sustainable Urbanization and Housing on 14 April 2022 in Kenya, where she made crucial suggestions on behalf of the region.

Source: Opemsuo.com/ Emmanuel Owusu Anti