By DOH JAMES SONKEY
The implementation of Sustainable Urban Mobility plans in some key African cities came under review last September 17 to 19, 2019 at the Yaounde Djeuga Palace Hotel during the 3rd Mobilize Your City Africa Mobility Conference placed under the auspices of Cameroon’s Prime Minister, Head of Government, Chief Dr. Joseph Dion Ngute.
Chaired on behalf of the PM by the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Celestine Ketcha Courtes, the conference that held on the theme “Transformational changes for more inclusive, low-carbon and liveable cities”, enabled representatives from 19 cities and 7 African countries which joined Mobilise Your City community as well as 15 international institutional partners, to discuss challenges, solutions and adequate practices in terms of sustainable mobility planning.
In her speech, Minister Celestine Ketcha Courtes explained that “Mobilise Your City was born of COP21 in Paris in 2015 as a global climate partnership for integrated urban development planning in emerging and developing countries. It supports and engages local and national partner governments in improving urban mobility by providing a methodological framework and technical assistance, through capacity building, and by enabling access to funding at both local and national levels.”
Two pilot cities in Cameroon; Douala represented by its Government Delegate, Fritz Ntone Ntone and Yaounde represented by its Government Delegate, Gilbert Tsimi Evouna presented to participants implementation levels of their sustainable urban mobility plans.
Speaking at the occasion, French Ambassador to Cameroon, H.E Christophe Guilhou said their government will continue to support African countries in the realization of sustainable urban mobility plans in order to overcome the challenge of traffic congestion, poor air quality, road fatalities, economic inefficiency due to difficult commuting conditions, poor living conditions, and high carbon emissions described as major problems resulting from poorly planned and unsustainable urban transport systems.
It was acknowledged that people and governments particularly in emerging and developing countries are increasingly focused on making urban development a priority as a means to cope with growing populations and urbanization trends.
Studies reveal that the transport sector worldwide currently emits approximately 28% of all CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and transport in cities accounts for nearly half of all sectors related emissions.
It is warned that if significant steps towards sector transformation are not taken, emissions will triple by 2050.
The first and second conferences took place respectively in Agadir in 2017 and Abidjan in 2018.