President Ruto officially opens second UN Habitat Assembly in Kenya

Kenya’s President, William Ruto has officially opened the second UN Habitat Assembly in Nairobi. The president says the assembly comes at a time when his government is committed to changing the lives of Kenyan people.

The assembly will be aiming to find ways of transforming the lives of the poor and those who live in informal settlements by providing sustainable and affordable housing.

Kenya is home to one of the biggest slums in the world and Ruto says the biggest challenge to transformation is inequality.

“Urban centres are the theatre of the starkest inequalities in human opportunities and human outcomes. One more opportunity for the global community to reflect about the progress made in imagining new possibilities for the sustainable provision of opportunities and amenities to promote the flourishing of more than 10 billion human beings.”

Meanwhile, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres says developing countries still have the opportunity to reverse the inequalities that are rising in cities across the world.

World in a crisis

Speaking during the opening of the United Nations Habitat Assembly, Guterres says the world is in a crisis as inequality and poverty continue grow.

Guterres addressed some 193 UN member states where South Africa is also represented by the Department of Human Settlements.

He says it is important for UN member states to meet the 2030 sustainable development goals.

“Inequalities are rising, global temperatures are rising. That is straining the economy of developing countries to the limit. An estimated 600 million people still live in poverty and over 1 billion people still live in slums. There is still time to reverse these trends but to do so we must fight for the future we want.”

Kenyan Pres. William Ruto gives opening address at 2nd UN Habitat Assembly in Nairobi: