Urbanisation strain shows on African cities

MAPUTO – Africa’s cities are groaning under the impact of a rapid rise in population numbers as millions turn their backs on rural poverty each year in an often futile quest to improve their living conditions.

Amid predictions that urban dwellers will account for a majority of Africa’s population in less than two decades, the dangers thrown up by the migration are set to feature high on the agenda of finance ministers and economics experts gathered this week for the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) annual meeting. “The main problem is that although we have got this big rise in the urban population, it has not been accompanied by the creation of more economic opportunities,” bank president Donald Kaberuka said in an interview with AFP.”Urbanisation in Africa is not a result of industrialisation but because people are trying to escape a life of misery in the countryside.”In a new report this week, the bank predicted the number of people living in towns or cities across Africa to be around 12 and 13 million in 2008 and the urban population was likely to outstrip the rural population by 2035.”While it is true that the inequalities between urban and rural areas appear to be falling, the gap between rich and poor is becoming more striking and worrying, especially if you see how slums are becoming ever more overcrowded,” says the report.According to the study, more than 250 million people, representing nearly 60 per cent of the urban population, live either on or below the poverty line and that figure is likely to have increased by another 100 million by 2020.Many of Africa’s cities have seen dramatic rises in population numbers over the last decade.In the Angolan capital Luanda for example, the population has skyrocketed from 750 000 at independence in 1975 to more than six million.Even though Angola is the fastest growing economy in Africa, more than 80 per cent of Luandans live in shantytowns without running water or regular supplies of electricity while the roads are a byword for gridlock.The fragility of the city’s water system was underlined late last year when hundreds of residents were struck down and five killed by suspected bromide poisoning.In the Nigerian commercial capital Lagos, the biggest city in sub-Saharan Africa, few of the eight million residents can afford to live less than an hour’s commute from work.The road network is in a poor state of repair.According to the UN agency Habitat, the country’s urban population is growing by five percent per year although nearly 20 per cent currently lack access to safe water sources.”Urbanisation places real constraints on the public finances and on standards of living,” said Kaberuka.”Urban poverty is on the increase.Levels of infant mortality and infectious diseases are now virtually the same in cities as in the rural areas.””The AfDB cannot be the only one who can solve all the world’s problems but we can place the issue on the table for debate.”Alioune Badiane, Habitat’s regional director for Africa and Asia, says it is important that all sides worked together to address the challenges.”The AfDB needs to coordinate with United Nations agencies in order to improve urban development,” he said in a seminar on the sidelines of the meeting in Maputo.Both the bank and the UN were agreed on the “need to help local authorities to ensure good governance of cities,” he added.Nampa-AFP”The main problem is that although we have got this big rise in the urban population, it has not been accompanied by the creation of more economic opportunities,” bank president Donald Kaberuka said in an interview with AFP.”Urbanisation in Africa is not a result of industrialisation but because people are trying to escape a life of misery in the countryside.”In a new report this week, the bank predicted the number of people living in towns or cities across Africa to be around 12 and 13 million in 2008 and the urban population was likely to outstrip the rural population by 2035.”While it is true that the inequalities between urban and rural areas appear to be falling, the gap between rich and poor is becoming more striking and worrying, especially if you see how slums are becoming ever more overcrowded,” says the report.According to the study, more than 250 million people, representing nearly 60 per cent of the urban population, live either on or below the poverty line and that figure is likely to have increased by another 100 million by 2020.Many of Africa’s cities have seen dramatic rises in population numbers over the last decade.In the Angolan capital Luanda for example, the population has skyrocketed from 750 000 at independence in 1975 to more than six million.Even though Angola is the fastest growing economy in Africa, more than 80 per cent of Luandans live in shantytowns without running water or regular supplies of electricity while the roads are a byword for gridlock.The fragility of the city’s water system was underlined late last year when hundreds of residents were struck down and five killed by suspected bromide poisoning.In the Nigerian commercial capital Lagos, the biggest city in sub-Saharan Africa, few of the eight million residents can afford to live less than an hour’s commute from work.The road network is in a poor state of repair.According to the UN agency Habitat, the country’s urban population is growing by five percent per year although nearly 20 per cent currently lack access to safe water sources.”Urbanisation places real constraints on the public finances and on standards of living,” said Kaberuka.”Urban poverty is on the increase.Levels of infant mortality and infectious diseases are now virtually the same in cities as in the rural areas.””The AfDB cannot be the only one who can solve all the world’s problems but we can place the issue on the table for debate.”Alioune Badiane, Habitat’s regional director for Africa and Asia, says it is important that all sides worked together to address the challenges.”The AfDB needs to coordinate with United Nations agencies in order to improve urban development,” he said in a seminar on the sidelines of the meeting in Maputo.Both the bank and the UN were agreed on the “need to help local authorities to ensure good governance of cities,” he added.Nampa-AFP