Preparations to hold Kenya Urban Forum (KUF) conference on course

Written by Nancy Naholi

Plans to host Kenya’s Urban Forum Conference in Nakuru City next month are in top gear.

The conference is expected to host at least 5,000 participants from May 23-25, with thematic areas to be discussed including Urban housing, financing, economy, and poverty.

Today, Nakuru Deputy Governor David Kones hosted representatives from the State Department for Housing and Urban Development, the World Bank, and UN-Habitat among other key stakeholders to get an update on the preparation progress of the event.

The DG who represented Governor Susan Kihika in the meeting assured the team of the county’s support throughout the three-day event calling for a synergetic relationship with partners to ensure the event was a success.

He also toured one of the four proposed venues at Sarova Woodlands open grounds to inspect ahead of the May event.

Nakuru will be holding the premier event which will be a precursor to the 12th World Urban Forum to be held in Cairo, Egypt in 2024.

The conference theme is “Strategic Pathways to Inclusive and sustainable urbanization in Kenya” with the tagline “The Future is Urban”

The theme resonates with National Urban Development Policy, 2016, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the New Urban Agenda (NUA).

Engineer Benjamin Njenga, Secretary of Urban and Metropolitan Development, State Department for Housing and Urban Development said Nakuru should be at the forefront to ensure the event is a success.

Also, present in the forum were representatives from the Council of Governors, the Kenya Urban Support Programme, and the County Security Committee.

Others were Chief officers including the Office of the Governor Newton Mwaura, Chief Officer of Resource mobilization Alex Maina, Chief Officer of Culture and Tourism Rosemary Kimani, and Chief Officer of Housing and Urban Development David Kuria among others.