UN-HABITAT: Press Releases

Dar es Salaam/Nairobi, 12 August, 2002: On her first official visit to her home country since her elevation to Under-Secretary-General from Assistant-Secretary-General, Mrs. Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT was met at the airport by His Worship Kleist Sykes, the Mayor of Dar es Salaam, Mr. Wilson Mkama, the City Director, who congratulated her and welcomed her back to Dar es Salaam. Dr. Wedson Mwambazi, the Acting UN Resident Coordinator and WHO Representative, and Mr. Oddvar Jakobsen, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP were part of the delegation that received Mrs. Tibaijuka. Many friends from the University of Dar es Salaam, where Mrs. Tibaijuka was Associate Professor of Economics, were also at the airport to welcome her.

Mrs. Tibaijuka is in Dar es Salaam to meet with members of the national Government, the municipal authorities and other local Habitat Agenda partners including representatives of UN agencies and donor countries.

“I am pleased to be back home, especially as one of the main reasons for coming here is to present a Scroll of Honour award to Mr. Charles Keenja in recognition of the work he, and the then City Commission of Dar es Salaam, undertook in improving the living conditions of the city,” said Mrs. Tibaijuka. “Though there is still much to be done in ensuring better living conditions for all, I am proud that Dar es Salaam has set a good example of how to manage a sustainable city.”

The Executive Director will present a UN-HABITAT Scroll of Honour to Mr. Charles Keenja at a dinner hosted by the University of Dar es Salaam on the evening of 16 August 2002. Mr. Keenja, who was Chairman of the then Dar es Salaam City Commission from 5 July 1996 to 31 January 2000, is being awarded the Scroll of Honour in recognition of the improvements made to the city of Dar es Salaam.

Under Mr. Keenja’s leadership and support, the Sustainable Dar es Salaam Project grew to its peak and recorded some of its greatest achievements. This included the establishment of the four municipal authorities - the City of Dar es Salaam and the Municipalities of Ilala, Kinondoni and Temeke. The Strategic Urban Development Plan (SUDP) which is guiding the development of the City was also prepared during Mr Keenja's tenure of office.

While Mrs. Tibaijuka is in Dar es Salaam she hopes to visit some of the improvements made under the Sustainable Cities Programme. This programme was originally launched in 1992 as the Sustainable Dar es Salaam Project and came into full operation as a demonstration project in 1993 under the coordination of the Dar es Salaam City Commission. Today, the Sustainable Cities Programme in Tanzania has expanded to include the City of Mwanza and nine other municipalities including the three in Dar es Salaam.

Mrs. Tibaijuka will visit UN-HABITAT’s Safer Dar es Salaam Project, in which the city of Dar es Salaam, with technical assistance from UN-HABITAT and funding from the Government of the Nertherlands, has been implementing an innovative approach to crime and insecurity since 1997. Under this project, the City Council has developed its role as leader and co-ordinator of crime prevention efforts in the city in collaboration with the police, the communities and the various government departments.

The Executive Director will also meet with various city officials to discuss plans for a number of projects. This includes a comprehensive upgrading programme for the informal settlement in the city to be undertaken as part of ‘Cities Alliance’, a joint UN-HABITAT and World Bank Initiative.

Mrs. Tibaijuka will sign a letter of intent with the Government of Tanzania to make Dar es Salaam one of the participating cities in the Managing Water for African Cities Project. A demonstration project will be implemented in Dar es Salaam that will include a comprehensive strategy for water demand management for the whole city.

At the same time, Mrs. Tibaijuka will hold discussions about UN-HABITAT’s inputs into the Inter-Ministerial/Inter-Agency Task Force on the Establishment of a Housing Finance Facility with the Government of Tanzania.

Finally, Mrs. Tibaijuka will formalise an agreement with Dar es Salaam University’s College of Lands & Architectural Studies to collaborate with UN-HABITAT on the training of municipal practitioners in environmental planning and management.

Note to the Editor
Background to the election of the Executive Director at the level of Under-Secretary-General:
On 23 July 2002, the General Assembly unanimously elected Mrs. Tibaijuka, who has been the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT for the past 2years at the level of ASG, for a second term in office of four years beginning on 1 September 2002 at the level of USG. The election of the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) was one of the agenda items of the 109th Plenary meeting of the General Assembly. Delegates were unanimous in their support for the decision. Amongst others, the United Republic of Tanzania and Kenya congratulated the Executive Director upon her appointment and the quality of her leadership. Delegates also requested the General Assembly to provide UN-HABITAT and its Executive Director with the necessary support to help governments to help the urban poor.

Mrs. Tibaijuka’s election as Under-Secretary-General is an indication of the General Assembly’s confidence in her leadership of the organization during the last 2 years. Since her appointment by the UN Secretary-General, as Executive Director, at the level of Assistant-Secretary General, in September 2000, UN-HABITAT has gone from strength to strength. Under Mrs. Tibaijuka’s leadership UN-HABITAT gained in donor confidence with a number of countries increasing their contributions. Subsequently, the General Assembly elevated the UN Centre for Human Settlements into a fully-fledged UN Programme. Earlier this year, UN-HABITAT also hosted the first-ever World Urban Forum that highlighted the urgent need for sustainable urbanization.

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Mr. Sharad Shankardass
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Press & Media Relations Unit
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Ms. Zahra A. Hassan
Media Liaison
Tel: (254 2) 623151
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E-mail: habitat.press@unhabitat.org Website: www.unhabitat.org