Ministry of Local Government, Unity and Culture - Malawi

Introduction
Malawi adopted a long-term development vision, the Malawi 2063 (MW2063). The development strategy aims to transform Malawi into a wealthy and self-reliant industrialised upper middle-income country by the year 2063. The Vision is anchored on three pillars namely; Agriculture productivity and commercialisation, Industrialization and Urbanisation.
The Ministry of Local Government Unity and Culture is currently coordinating the urbanisation pillar in which it recognises urban centres as being critical for the development of the economy of the country. The pillar envisages the country to have world-class urban centres and tourism hubs across the country with requisite modern socio-economic amenities. One of the strategic interventions under this pillar is creation of secondary cities that will become centres of Government, industry, agriculture, tourism, and mining activities. This has led to the preparation of master plans for the proposed secondary cities. One of the planning principles for the secondary cites planning is to ensure that cities being planned are resilient to the occurrences of various disasters, such as floods.
In recent years, Malawi has experienced climate induced disasters which have affected human settlements. Much of the damage was experienced in the major cities and urban centres leading to severe damage to public infrastructure, homes, livelihoods, property and life.
Malawi would like to apply for an exhibition booth where it intends to exhibit how the planning process for secondary cities is being carried out.
The exhibition booth will also accommodate other stakeholders from the private sector who will showcase works they are implementing in human settlements in order to improve resilience. These will include;
1. Master Planning for secondary cities
The planning of these Secondary Cities has taken into consideration mainstreaming of climate change and disaster risk management to ensure that they are resilient. Currently, the Ministry in coordination with the Ministry of Lands has prepared a master plan for Bangula, a centre in southern Region of Malawi which was earmarked as a secondary city. The area experiences disasters in form of floods annually and the planning of this centre has incorporated strategies to improve it resilience to climate induced disasters. The Ministry will showcase how this has been done, the success story, challenges that are being faced and possibly seek to learn how this can be improved from the attendees.
2. Habitat for humanity
Habitat for Humanity Malawi is implementing an Informal Upgrading Project an initiative aimed at improving the living conditions of residence of informal settlements in Area 27 Sector 3 in Lilongwe City, Malawi. The project highlights the impact of collaborative efforts and community-driven development in providing solutions to land and housing for informal settlements.
Reasons to Showcase the Informal Upgrading Project:
i. Demonstrate Impact: Showcasing the project demonstrates the tangible impact of upgrading informal settlements, improving lives, and enhancing community resilience.
ii. Promote Replicability: By sharing successes and lessons learned, the project can be replicated in other informal settlements, amplifying its influence and benefits.
3. Centre for Community Organisation and Development (CCODE)
The Centre for Community Organisation and Development (CCODE) is actively engaged in enhancing the resilience of vulnerable communities in Lilongwe, Malawi, to the impacts of climate change. One of CCODE's key initiatives focuses on improving the housing and income conditions of slum/informal settlements dwellers while simultaneously building their capacity to withstand climatic shocks. Recognizing that inadequate infrastructure exacerbates the vulnerability of these communities, CCODE has integrated climate resilience into its projects by constructing drainage systems and culverts. These essential infrastructure developments aim to mitigate the risks associated with flooding and erosion, common consequences of increasingly unpredictable weather patterns.
By working closely with local communities, government agencies, and other stakeholders, CCODE is fostering a bottom-up approach to climate adaptation. This collaborative effort ensures that solutions are sustainable, community-owned, and responsive to the specific needs of the target population. Through these initiatives, CCODE is not only addressing immediate housing and income challenges but also investing in the long-term well-being and security of vulnerable communities in the face of a changing climate.
CCODE will showcase how it has been involving the local communities in Lilongwe City to improve their adaptive capacity to climate change. The exhibition will show the success of the projects, challenges which are faced in implantation and seek better ways of improving the projects from the attendees.
4. Blantyre City council
Blantyre City Council will exhibit an Urban Resilience project being implanted in the city through various interventions such as Resilience planning and provision of resilient infrastructure. This exhibition will showcase how the project will benefit the residents of the city, challenges being faced and seek ways of further improving its implementation.
5. Malawi Housing Corporation
Malawi Housing Corporation has an ambitious project to construct 250,000 housing units in the next 10 years under the public sector reforms program. The Corporation will take advantage of the forum to showcase what is contained in the project dubbed ‘Project 250’ to potential international donors and investors.
Other exhibitions will come from other city councils and organisations demonstrating how they are working towards improving the capacity for local communities to the climate crisis which is negatively affecting them.
Conclusion
It is envisaged that WUF 12 in Cairo will provide a better information sharing and learning platform for Malawi with international developers and investors.