9TH EDITION OF THE AFRICITIES SUMMIT: FINAL DECLARATION

We, the delegates to the Africities Summit meeting in Kisumu, Kenya, from 17 to 21 May 2022 on the theme “The Role of Intermediate Cities in the Implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda and the African Union Agenda 2063”, honored by the High Patronage and personal participation of His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya, in the presence of His Excellency Joaquim Chissano, former President of Mozambique; His Excellency Danny Faure, former President of Seychelles; Their Royal Majesties representing the Traditional Authorities of Africa; and an important delegation of the African Union; His Excellency Danny Faure, former President of Seychelles; Their Royal Majesties representing the Traditional Authorities of Africa; and a large delegation from the African Diaspora. 

Considering the changing pattern of human settlements in Africa, which were rurally predominant thirty years ago and will mostly become urban in the next ten years; 

Recognizing that small and medium-sized cities are currently hosting up to 60% of urban dwellers and represent nearly 50% of African GDP; 

Taking into account the 150 million people of African origin or descent living outside the continent and forming the African Diaspora spread over five continents and representing over US$4 trillion in purchasing power; 

Recognizing that the structural transformation expected from the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, and called for the African Union’s Agenda 2063, will not materialize if the continent does not take advantage of the enormous opportunities offered by small and medium-sized cities and their rural hinterlands, and if the continent does not implement a more balanced spatial distribution of economic activities and job creation; 

Understanding that climate change is here to stay and that the task of the day is for African local governments to adapt to the consequences of climate change and to adopt more climate-friendly and resilient development paths at the city and territory level, including intermediate cities; 

Aware that the acceleration of the digital transformation of society is putting pressure on cities and local governments to rethink their management and relationships with citizens and other stakeholders, through the use of digital technologies and smart solutions, despite the limitations that cities and local governments face in terms of availability of infrastructure, equipment and skilled personnel; 

Fully aware that women and youth are the levers of Africa’s structural transformation and must therefore be more involved in the governance structures of cities and territories; 

HEREBY DECLARE THE FOLLOWING 

1- We wish to make intermediate cities the structuring poles of sustainable development in Africa by giving them a prominent place in regional planning and by creating new territorial dynamics that promote exchanges and links between rural and urban areas. 

2- We affirm our willingness to establish a constructive political dialogue between the different spheres of government in order to respect the principle of subsidiarity, an essential factor in the effectiveness of public policies. 

3- We commit ourselves to prioritize urban planning as an instrument for controlling the growth of urban and peri-urban territories by establishing institutional, legal, regulatory and operational instruments as well as the conditions for a participatory dialogue with the populations. 

4- We subscribe to the objectives of the United Nations Agenda 2030, the New Urban Agenda, the Right to the City and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and their translation into local development plans, and call on African countries to develop concerted urban development strategies with adequate technical and financial resources in accordance with the New Urban Agenda of UN-Habitat. 

5- We are convinced of the place of youth in the construction of the new Africa and call on Mayors to create local youth empowerment councils aiming at their blossoming, their integration and their socialization in the city. 

6- We adopt Culture as the fourth pillar of sustainable development by strengthening the cultural identity of territories to make it a potential vector of economic development. 

7- We call on Mayors to develop programs and action plans to fight against precariousness and vulnerability, especially that of street children, isolated women and desocialized youth, to fight against violence against women by participating in the actions of women’s groups, and to sign the African Charter for Gender Equality initiated by the Network of African Local Women Elected Officials and to apply its principles in our local authorities. 

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8- We affirm that climate change is a key issue for our territories and recommend that local governments adopt the necessary measures to prepare their territories for the consequences of climate change and invite them to join the Convention of African Mayors for Climate. 

9 – We call on all States to sign and ratify the African Charter of Values and Principles of Decentralization, Local Governance and Local Development and to ensure the proper implementation of the principles it contains. 

10- We call for a better distribution of public resources in favor of the development of intermediate urban poles and for greater attention to public policies aimed at them. 

11- We call for better use of local taxation and efficient collection of local taxes, including property tax. 

12- We call on national governments to develop programs to strengthen connections between intermediate cities and their hinterlands in order to enhance trade around economic watersheds by eliminating transaction costs. 

13- We propose to strengthen the links between intermediate cities and state capitals by building safe road networks, rail infrastructure and air links according to local realities and to strengthen digital connectivity. 

14- We wish that the African Union and the African States recognize the importance of decentralized cooperation and exchanges between local authorities in order to strengthen the knowledge and powers of our institutions. 

15- We support the establishment of an African Erasmus program for committed young people, as stated in Agenda 2063. 

16- We call on the entire African community to commit to the empowerment of women and youth by promoting economic support programs dedicated to women and youth, but also by facilitating access to decent and affordable housing, guaranteeing security, preventing crime through campaigns against violence against women, and offering youth integration and socialization programs through sports and culture. 

17- We call on international partners to support the development of African intermediate cities by putting in place dedicated programs and funding adapted to local realities. 

18- We call on partners, in accordance with the Paris Agreement on Aid Effectiveness, to align themselves with the decentralization processes underway in African States on the basis of decentralized or sectoral decentralization policies. 

19- We call on the international community to take into account the views of local and regional governments in the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of global agendas. 

20- and we call for the emergence of a world where Africa is recognized as a continent contributing to the emergence of a global society that is supportive and respectful of the planet, the climate, and biodiversity, and above all the continent of men and women united by a common destiny. 

Done in Kisumu, Kenya, on May 21, 2022