Traders in Kisumu County have been displaced over preparations for the ninth Africities Summit event. Atieno Atieno, Kisumu county communications director confirmed the report and said that the government is preparing for the event by beautifying the city.
Kenya’s port city of Kisumu will host the four-day pan-African event, which will be held from 16 to 20 November. It is anticipated that it will not only help resuscitate the city’s economy, which is still reeling from the effects of the coronavirus, but also aid in healing its deep political wounds.
Africities Summit event
An estimated 10 000 guests, including exhibitors from across Africa and beyond, are expected to descend upon Kenya’s third-largest city. Touted as the largest democratic gathering in Africa, Africities is a brainchild of United Cities and Local Governments of Africa. It focuses on the need for the continent to learn about, promote and present a new approach to sustainable development and is premised on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
This will be the second time Kenya is hosting the summit after Nairobi, the country’s capital, staged the fourth edition in 2006. Infrastructural projects include construction of the summit’s venue, a 30 000-capacity stadium; rehabilitation of the port of Kisumu, a once vibrant shipping hub serving the entire East African region; and expansion of Kisumu International Airport, which is already complete. As the county government races against time to give the city an overall facelift, Kenyans’ lives are being disrupted in ways they never imagined.
