Over 800,000 displaced persons given shelter
Urban Development Minister Rohana Dissanayake's
address at the 22nd Session of the Governing Council of UNCHS
(UN-Habitat), Nairobi-Kenya
"Emerging challenges of post conflict recovery in the North and East
of Sri Lanka, particularly in the areas of housing, water supply and
sanitation, far surpass those of the Tsunami, the devastating natural
calamity of such magnitude as had never been experienced in the 2,500
years of Sri Lankan civilization. With over 800,000 displaced persons -
recovery of housing is the primary need of the affected and also
critical first step in the need to 'rebuild their lives'.
The Government with the President personally providing leadership is
currently engaged in developing a comprehensive housing recovery program
for those affected by the decades old war of North and East."
Urban Development Minister Rohana Dissanayake addressing the
22nd Governing Council of UNCHS at Nairobi, Kenya |
This was said by the Minister of Urban Development, Rohana
Dissanayake at the 22nd Session of Governing Council of United Nations
Human Settlement Program (UN Habitat) which was held on March 30 to
April 3 at the UN Habitat Headquarters, Nairobi, Kenya.
On the invitation of the Executive Director of UN Habitat, Anna
Tibajuka, Vice President of Republic of Kenya Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka
were ceremonially inaugurated this conference which were participated
more than 1,000 delegates from 58 member countries including Sri Lanka.
At this conference Minister of Urban Development Rohana Dissanayake
said "We are thankful to UN-Habitat for the initiative and the
assistance in establishing the Slum Improvement Fund which is at its
initial stage of involvement in providing credit to the urban poor and
the marginalized to improve their living conditions and we assure
continuing our cooperation and support to the program. However, it has
to be highlighted that the Banking and other financial institutions
contribute with unfair demands of collateral and other conditions, in
spite of the matter canvassed over a long period of time at numerous
forums worldwide.
The global financial meltdown needless to say will further aggravate
the enormous challenges faced by the poor. With the countries of
affluence concentrating their attention exclusively on containing the
effects of the crisis on their economies, the misery of the poorest will
only further aggravate and Millennium Goal 7 that calls for the
significant improvement in the lives of slum dwellers by 2020 will
remain an unattained dream unless the world community intervenes now.
We urge at this 22nd Governing Council that UN-Habitat urgently
establish a high-level and representative group to visit the financial
centers of the world and intervene to alleviate the impending disastrous
consequences of the global financial crisis on lives and livelihood of
the poorest of the world.
Whilst being built upon Sri Lanka's past experiences in promoting
housing for the poor with priority and vigor, our recent programs are
mostly designed for implementation in local and community based
partnerships whereas others in public/private partnerships include
components to serve the housing needs of the poorer communities as well
as those of the middle income in accordance with the priority commitment
to the eradication of urban poverty and the promotion of urban good
governance.
The 'Arunodaya', a local community based participatory slum and
shanty replacement program by now spread out over many parts of the
island nation, had commenced exclusively funded by the CESS in September
2007 and since then have provided replacement housing for over 2,000
families in slums or shanties with a further 1,500 families in the
course of building their new houses utilizing grants totalling to Rs.
400 million exclusively from the 'CESS' supporting core accommodation to
replace their existing dwellings." |