The Transitional Government in Burkina Faso is continuing to implement a housing policy, where internally displaced persons, residents of undeveloped areas and other city dwellers, will benefit from the same rights to decent housing, worthy living environments generating socio-economic activities and job opportunities, reaffirmed Minister Mikaïlou Sidibé, in his message on the occasion of World Habitat Day.

Burkina Faso Information Agency

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‘Dwellers of cities and countryside,

As every year since 1985, as established by the United Nations General Assembly, the whole world celebrates World Habitat Day, on the first Monday of October. It constitutes an opportunity for all stakeholders to reflect on the state of our cities, to recall the right of all to decent housing, basic urban services and social and economic opportunities, but also and above all on responsibility collective and individual of us, decision-makers and citizens, with a view to best shaping the future of our urban a
nd rural centers.

This year, the 39th Habitat Day is celebrated under the theme ‘Resilient urban economies. Cities, engines of growth and recovery’. This theme is evocative of the role that our cities play or must play as factors in the development of countries around the world. It therefore offers the opportunity for leaders and civil society as well as all stakeholders to emphasize the role of cities in recovery after crises – whether COVID-19, economic downturns, conflicts or climate emergencies in our actions – and to explore how our cities can better position their economies to benefit their residents and create resilience.

The year 2023 has been particularly difficult for urban economies. Global growth is expected to decline to around 2.5%, the lowest rate since 2001, excluding the COVID-19 crisis in 2020 and the financial crisis of 2009. To support growth and recovery , the world will therefore need cities capable of absorbing, recovering and preparing for future economic shocks. Given the major cont
ribution of cities to national economies, the future of countries will be determined by the economic strength of urban areas.

Urban and rural inhabitants,

For our country, hard hit by the health, security and humanitarian crises, this theme calls into question the measures and actions to be undertaken in our cities and localities in order, on the one hand, to deal with the urban crisis following the humanitarian crisis and on the other hand, to make our cities more resilient with a view to post-crisis recovery. Indeed, the security crisis that our country has been experiencing for several years has had a hard impact on the foundations of our cities, with the influx of populations mainly towards urban centers. Spontaneous urban demographic growth increases pressure on urban land with the proliferation of undeveloped areas, particularly in the peripheries, basic urban services, economic and financial resources.

Aware that our present and our future are also at stake in the cities and in view of the current s
ecurity and humanitarian context, the Government of the Transition is carrying a series of initiatives and voluntary actions with a human face, construction and strengthening of its cities; cities where the internally displaced person, the inhabitant of the precarious area and other city dwellers enjoy the same right which is to benefit from the opportunities that the city offers to its inhabitants, particularly in terms of housing and a dignified living environment, economic activities, access to jobs, etc.

It is with this in mind that interest is focused on:

Control of the occupation and expansion of cities through urban planning. It is specifically a question of revisiting the planning tools made available to cities with serious security challenges and more generally of rethinking the planning approach implemented until now. On this register, there is reason to rethink our territorial framework to dare bold actions of territorial reconfiguration, taking advantage of the ‘ opportunity ‘ offered by the cu
rrent situation. The sustainability of our future resilience in the face of possible post-recovery exogenous shocks is at stake;

Carry out emergency treatment for towns and localities with a high incidence of internally displaced people;

Implement urban projects and programs with strong socio-economic impacts. Two major programs whose purpose is to create strong local economies and thus strengthen the role of engine of economic development of our cities have been initiated: these are the Urban Development Program and the Program for the restructuring of spontaneous and informal settlement areas. clearance of liabilities. The Program for the restructuring of spontaneous settlement areas and settlement of liabilities, which is an inclusive program, is implemented by and for our indigenous populations and internally displaced persons living in precarious areas while respecting the guiding principles of good governance, participation and partnership, equity and gender. It relies on an endogenous financing mecha
nism, in line with the vision promoted by the Head of State. Ultimately, this Program will lead to the creation of more than a million direct jobs; which should help relieve cities with the pressure generated by the current crisis

Urban and rural inhabitants,

Housing serves both as shelter and as an organizational space for carrying out the various activities of everyday life; it therefore constitutes a fundamental need for city dwellers. This is why, in addition to the actions mentioned, the Government of the Transition, through the Action Plan for Stabilization and Development, and with the support of Technical and Financial Partners, has undertaken numerous projects aimed at on the one hand, to offer decent housing to internally displaced populations who, by joining the cities, have no other hope than to benefit like millions of other inhabitants from what the city can offer them in terms of security and opportunity. The foundations of this government option for facilitating access to decent housing were
the driving to its conclusion,

This is the place for me to remind you, dear inhabitants of cities and countryside, dear actors of urban development, that the power to transform our cities resides in each of us and that together, we have the duty to invest , everyone as far as they are concerned, for the construction of inclusive, resilient and sustainable cities, a guarantee of a better future for all.

Source: Burkina Information Agency