MALAWI HOLDS ITS FIRST URBAN FORUM

The first Malawi Urban Forum was held at the Crossroads Hotel in Lilongwe from 8 to 9 December 2008. The Malawi Urban Forum (MUF) brought together relevant stakeholders to discuss in a solution-oriented way what is considered to be the most significant demographic and poverty dynamic in Malawi today – rapid urbanization and the urbanization of poverty. The theme of the first Malawi Urban Forum was Harmonious Urbanisation: the challenge of sustainable urban development in Malawi chosen in line with the 2008 World Habitat Day and World Urban Forum theme and with special focus on some of Malawi’s key urban challenges which were elaborated during dialogues covering the following: urban planning for sustainable urbanization, shelter, energy and environment, local authorities, civil society, private sector partnership in urban development, gender youth disability and HIV/AIDS and a dialogue for parliamentarians. Key expert facilitators facilitated each of the dialogues as well as the plenaries.

The Forum brought together close to 200 Government officials, members of parliament, private sector, urban utility providers, NGOs, civil society, community representatives, universities, professional institutes, local authorities and their network as well as urban practitioners.

Picture: Journalists take notes during visit to Mchesi
There were exhibitions mounted by a number of institutions – government, private, NGOs and community groups covering a number of areas including GIS for urban applications, water and sanitation, housing, urban agriculture and community groups artifacts.

The Forum was made possible with funding from UNDP, UN-Habitat, GTZ, Action Aid. Technical support for the Forum was provided by UN-Habitat, CCODE, Action Aid, Malawi Institute of Physical Planners. The Malawi Government through the Ministries of Housing and Lands provided the Secretariat to the Forum.

The first Malawi Urban Forum passed a number of resolutions. The resolutions and the way forward will be circulated in a more comprehensive report on the first Malawi Urban Forum. All papers presented at the Forum are being compiled for dissemination.



Top

UN-HABITAT presents its first Housing Sector Profile to stakeholders in Malawi

UN-HABITAT has presented the preliminary findings, conclusions and policy recommendations of the Malawi Housing Sector Profile to a broad range of stakeholders in Lilongwe. The Profile is the result of field surveys and housing sector studies undertaken during the last six months by a multi-disciplinary team of national and international experts led by UN-HABITAT. The stakeholders’ workshop (20-21 April 2009) discussed the draft Housing Profile document and how it can be improved to provide evidences, in-depth knowledge and possible guidance to improve housing delivery and the draft Malawi National Housing Policy that is currently under review. Amongst the 65 participants were representatives from national and local governments, utility companies, NGOs, civil society, traditional leaders, donor organizations, private sector housing developers, financial institutions, professional institutions, and academia.

Malawi National Housing Policy Consultation with Habitat Programme Manager John Chome, UN-HABITAT Housing Policy Section Chief Claudio Acioly, Principal Secretary for Housing and Urban Development Ivy Luhanga, and Kelby Chirwa from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (from left to right). © C. Acioly


The Housing Profile methodology was developed by UN-HABITAT’s Housing Policy Section as an analytical tool to provide governments and other actors with a comprehensive assessment of their country’s housing delivery system. The analysis covers the mechanisms to access land, housing finance, basic infrastructure and services, building materials, technology and labour. It identifies gaps and bottlenecks hindering the housing market to work properly, particularly for the urban poor. The Profile highlights constraints and opportunities in the existing policy, institutional and regulatory frameworks and provides the necessary knowledge for the design of appropriate policy responses.

The team that carried out the Malawi Housing Sector Profile interviewed key organisations in the housing sector, visited sites where housing is being developed, undertook household sample surveys, reviewed relevant documentation and legislation, and discussed with decision-makers, community representatives and traditional leaders.

The Malawi Housing Sector Profile study revealed that the country has currently no quantitative housing shortfall, but there is a need to provide housing opportunities for a fast growing urban population in addition to improving the existing housing stock and upgrading informal settlements. With an annual urban growth rate of 6.3 per cent, Malawi is one of the fastest urbanizing countries in the world.

The UN-HABITAT Housing Profile Team estimates that by 2020, 21,000 new dwellings will be needed to meet the demand of new urban households. The Housing Profile revealed many aspects that have policy implications. For example, Malawi has a serious housing affordability dilemma to resolve since the average house price is only affordable to half the population.

To meet the demand for housing till 2020, stakeholders at the workshop in Malawi agreed on a number of priorities:
  • Establishment of a fast-track land delivery system for housing, including a ‘sites without services model’.
  • Affordable housing finance through partnerships between Government, NGOs and financial institutions.
  • Provision of infrastructure to residential areas, with water as top priority, through better management, especially more effective user fee collection, cross-subsidies, and a local development fund.
  • Incremental formalization of unplanned settlements.
  • Review of spatial planning standards to prevent urban sprawl.
  • Participation of all stakeholders in the housing delivery process.
Upon invitation by the Government of Malawi, UN-HABITAT participated in a multi-stakeholder policy consultation (22-23 April 2009) that followed the stakeholders’ workshop. It was agreed that the findings of the Housing Sector Profile and the identified priorities should be reflected in the National Housing Policy that is to be adopted soon.

In her closing remarks, the Permanent Secretary from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development underscored that housing and urban development feature high on Malawi’s national development agenda. It was against this background that in October 2008 a stand-alone Ministry of Housing and Urban Development was established. Through its policy advice, UN-HABITAT is supporting the work of this new Ministry.

UN-HABITAT will undertake further Housing Sector Profile Studies in Uganda, Senegal and Tunisia. This programme is funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada.


Low-cost housing production in Kanjedza, Blantyre, by Malawi Homeless People’s Federation © R. Precht

Top

UN-HABITAT announces the Opportunities Fund for Youth Led Development

Youth-led organizations in developing countries including Malawi who are working to improve the living conditions of their communities and particularly in urban areas, can now apply for financial assistance from UN-HABITAT to support innovative youth-led projects in areas such as employment, education, environment, health and safety.

The Opportunities Fund for Urban Youth-Led Development will provide grants between $5,000 and $25,000 to organizations led by young people aged 15-32 years.

‘In this time of worldwide economic crisis, it is not only banks and automakers who deserve financial support, we also need to encourage youth who are often best placed to solve problems in their communities,’ said Mrs Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT. ‘The Opportunities Fund is designed to provide financial support of up to one million dollars per year, to youth-led initiatives aimed at sustainable urbanization. We must harness the energies of the young if we are to overcome the problems of urban poverty.’

Out of one and half million slum dwellers in Malawi, an estimated 70% are under the age of 30. Yet these young people lack adequate resources to improve their own living environment and perhaps earn an income too. Youth are often a marginalized group within the community and broader development debate, and particularly so in urban areas, where assumptions are that commercial centres provide them with employment and income. Several youth-led initiatives do exist in slums and squatter settlements, and which with financial support can be elevated to benefit more people.

The Opportunities Fund for Urban Youth-Led Development has been established with support from the Norwegian Government with an initial $ 2 million over two years with possibility of renewal.

Applications from organizations collaborating with Government and the private sector are encouraged. Projects promoting gender equality are particularly welcome.

Application details are now available at www.unhabitat.org/opfund

For more information, please contact: John Chome, UN-HABITAT Programme Manager Tel 01 770133; 01773500; Fax: 01 773637: Email: john.chome@undp.org Website: www.unhabitat.org

UN-HABITAT CALLS FOR SCROLL OF HONOUR NOMINATIONS

UN-HABITAT is calling on its partners to submit an entry for consideration to the Habitat Scroll of Honour. The Habitat Scroll of Honour award was launched by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in 1989. It is currently the most prestigious human settlements award in the world. Its aim is to acknowledge initiatives which have made outstanding contributions in various fields such as shelter provision, highlighting the plight of the homeless, leadership in post conflict reconstruction, and developing and improving the human settlements and the quality of urban life.

To make a complete submission, the organisation/individual will need to fill out a nomination form and provide a ten page summary of their project. Both of these documents can be found on our website at www.unhabitat.org/whd . To improve the quality of submissions received, the UN-Habitat Programme Manager in Malawi is available to assist the party interested in winning the award to fill in the form and provide information for the summary.

The deadline for receiving submissions is 15 August 2009.

For more information, please contact: John Chome, UN-HABITAT Programme Manager Tel 01 770133; 01773500; Fax: 01 773637: Email: john.chome@undp.org



Top

Government of Malawi and UN-HABITAT sign Memorandum of Understanding on Participatory Slum Upgdrading Programme


Picture: A resident at Mchesi township shows her bathroom
The Malawi Government and UN-Habitat have signed an MoU that provides a framework of cooperation between the two parties under the Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme – Urban Sector Profiling Phase. This is a programme for rendering support in urban poverty reduction through improved policies and implementation strategies at national and local (city) levels. The MoU was jointly signed by the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development Mr George Mkondiwa and the Executive Director of UN-Habitat Mrs Anna Tibaijuka on behalf of the Government of Malawi and UN-Habitat respectively.

The Urban Sector profiling is the first phase of this programme and its outputs include a city profile for each of the four cities in Malawi and a national urban profile. This work expected to be carried out in the next eight months will be facilitated by Mzuzu University with backstopping of the programme execution provided by UN-Habitat.

The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development chairs the National Steering Committee for this programme. Other members of the Steering Committee are Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Ministry of Transport and Public Works, MALGA, MCCCI, European Union and UN-Habitat.

FIRST UN-HABITAT COUNTRY PROGRAMME DOCUMENT FOR MALAWI PUBLISHED

The first Habitat Country Programme Document (HCPD) for Malawi was published and presented at the 22nd Session of the UN-HABITAT Governing Council in March /April 2009. As part of UN-HABITAT’s Medium Term Strategic and Institutional Plan (2008-2013), the HCPD has been prepared to promote the alignment of UN-HABITAT normative and operational activities in Malawi in a consultative and inclusive process. This document is a strategic tool to guide all UN-HABITAT activities over a two year period.

In the words of UN-HABITAT’s Executive Director Anna Tibaijuka, the HCPD seeks to ‘strengthen the role of the United Nations and to demonstrate UN-Habitat’s commitment to the UN reform process’.

The document identifies national urban development goals and priorities including shelter, urban governance, access to basic services. It also addresses important cross-cutting issues. The document will also be a reference tool for national and local actors involved in sustainable urban development.





© All photographs have been used with the permission of the copyright owner or are the property of UN in Malawi. To use any of the photographs or reproduce the contents of this publication, please contact the Editor-in-Chief for permission and credit instructions. Information purposes only: The material available on this newsletter are intended for informational purposes only. The information provided on is provided only as general information, which may or may not reflect the most current legal developments. The opinions expressed on or through this publication are the opinions of the individual author and may not reflect the opinions of United Nations or its related bodies.