Successful staging of regional conference on housing and urbanisation
Minister Without Portfolio with responsibility for Housing Morais Guy is hailing as a success the just concluded 24th session of the general assembly of Ministers and High Level Authorities on Housing and Urbanisation in Latin America and the Caribbean (MINURVI) at Secrets Resorts in Montego Bay, St James.
Dr Guy, who chaired the three-day meeting, which ended on August 28, said topics examined will ensure that going forward all MINURVI countries are now in a better position to plan their development.
“The topics that we have discussed are relevant, not only to the situation in Jamaica, but we have had similarities across the region in terms of risk-reduction and disaster management. We have also looked at rural housing, which impacts on our situation here in Jamaica,” he said.
Dr Guy pointed out that the very unfortunate experience of Dominica, which was severely affected by the effects of Hurricane Erika, brought home the need for more cooperation among the participating countries in matters relating to risk and disaster management.
“It brings into sharper focus the need to have mitigation measures and so a recognition by all of us that climate change is impacting on our local weather pattern and for us all to realise that we need to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that we are emitting in the air,” he noted.
Looking at his year as Chairman of MINURVI, Dr Guy said it was relatively successful, although more could have been achieved by the group.
He said that in addition to getting more Caribbean nations to attend the annual conference, the efforts of the group were directed at ensuring that all 34 member countries of MINURVI prepared their national reports for next year’s third United Nations conference on urbanisation and sustainable development (UN-HABITAT-3).
Minister Guy pointed out that Jamaica’s report to UN-HABITAT is ready and was presented from as far back as November 2014, after a series of public consultations.
The meeting was attended by delegates from South America, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean and had observers from Citizens Alliance, The Caribbean Development Bank, Urban Development Corporation of Barbados and UN-HABITAT-3.
The Chairmanship of MINURVI has now been assumed by Soledad Nunez of Paraguay.
