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If grandiose ‘plans’ were money, the IMF would be begging us for cash, but despite not having the political will to address its myriad of problems, the AU seems to be on board with a proposal to build 123 new cities in the continent.

The ambitious idea aims to address a ‘continent-wide housing deficit’ after the World Bank predicted that 216 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa will live in shanty towns by 2063.

Straying from the entrenched failure of African governments to just deliver basic services, there is a valid reason for looking towards ‘new’ cities. Much of Africa’s larger cities were constructed by colonial powers and were developed for much smaller populations. The increase in populations in these spaces has now resulted in severe issues of service delivery.

The African Union and a unit of Temasek Holdings are however proposing the establishment of several new cities at an estimated cost of roughly R3-Trillion in the next two decades could address this historical miscalculation.

Under the plan Africa123 plans to incorporate designs that include sustainable energy and water supplies as well as transport, education and health infrastructure and employment opportunities.

The African Union Development Agency (AUDA) is in talks with the company to develop a pilot project. Financiers have also been approached in regard to offering home loans for these shiny new towns.

“We like the program,” said Kossi Toulassi, head of industrialisation at the AUDA. “It’s bringing together education, health, and employment together under one shop.” The AU is a big fan of ‘under one roof’ in its Gaddaffi-like approach to business on the continent.

African authorities are always struggling to keep up with providing services to cities that have seen unplanned sprawl for decades as people move to urban areas in search of work.

Those of you who remember Cape Town in the 80s will know that the city has grown faster than the average American waistline in the last few decades, and despite constant upgrades, service delivery is not keeping up with all the new builds. But yes, let’s build new cities as the old ones crumble.

There will likely be more details emerging on this ambitious plan so perhaps our scepticism is unfounded, but those of us who live in this beautiful and rich continent wonder if this will ever really take off.

It’s R3-Trillion after all, so hopefully they will keep a few million aside for the commissions of inquiry.

[source:news24]