Minister for Housing, Hon. Francis Asenso-Boakye has pledged Ghana’s commitment to the United Nations’ “New Urban Agenda”.
The Minister was addressing a High-level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on behalf of the government of Ghana on Thursday, April 28, 2022, in New York.
The meeting was convened by the President of the 76th session of the General Assembly, His Excellency Mr. Abdulla Shahid to assess progress on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda.
“Ghana is committed to making a conscious effort towards the implementation of the New Urban Agenda to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”, he affirmed. He added, that, “the choices we all make today could result in a breakthrough to a greener, better and safer future.”
Mr. Asenso-Boakye explained that government of Ghana is prioritising the provision of affordable housing to address challenges confronting its citizens in home ownership. “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”, said the Bantama lawmaker.
The New Urban Agenda, adopted at Habitat III in Quito, Ecuador, on 20 October 2016, is a paradigm shift based on the science of cities and lays out standards and principles for the planning, construction, development, management and improvement of urban areas.
It is intended as a resource for different actors in multiple levels of government and for civil society organizations, the private sector and all who reside in urban spaces of the world.
This Agenda highlights linkages between sustainable urbanization and job creation, livelihood opportunities and improved quality of life, and it insists on incorporation of all these sectors in every urban development or renewal policy and strategy.
The attendance of Hon. Francis Asenso-Boakye at this year’s UN General Assembly Meeting will be a game changer for the country as it prepares to embark on a revised National Affordable Housing programme.
Prior to this meeting , Ghana’s Housing Minister, Hon. Asenso-Boakye had joined colleague Minister’s in the Region at a Special African Ministerial Session on Sustainable Urbanization and Housing, that was held on April 14, 2022 in Kenya to make key recommendations on behalf of the Region.
Source: MyPublisher24.com
